Soap opera soap opera "Guiding Light" (originally titled "The Guiding Light" until 1975) started as a radio drama in January 1937 and subsequently transferred to television in June 1952. With the exception of several years in the late 1940s, during which creator Irna Phillips was involved in a dispute with Procter & Gamble, "Guiding Light" was heard or seen nearly every weekday from 1937 until 2009, making it the longest story ever told in a broadcast medium. Originally serials were broadcast as fifteen-minute installments each weekday in daytime slots. In 1956, "As the World Turns" and "The Edge of Night", both produced
Soap opera Between 1998 and 2005, Channel 5 ran late-night repeats of "Sons and Daughters". During the 1980s, the Australian attempts to emulate big-budget U.S. soap operas such as "Dallas" and "Dynasty" had resulted in the debuts of "Taurus Rising" and "Return to Eden", two slick soap opera dramas with big budgets that were shot entirely on film. Though their middling Australian ratings resulted in the shows running only for a single season, both programs were successfully sold internationally. Other shows to achieve varying levels of international success include "Richmond Hill", "E Street", "Paradise Beach" (1993–1994), and "Pacific Drive" (1995–1997). Indeed, these