Due in part to a general decline in the soap opera genre as a whole, and the growing adoption of digital video recorders, cable/satellite video on demand, and streaming video options making its primetime soap encores increasingly unnecessary on a traditional linear network, Disney announced in 2010 that Soapnet would be replaced by the new preschool-oriented network Disney Junior, which launched in March 2012. While some providers removed Soapnet upon the launch of Disney Junior, the channel continued to operate on some providers until it finally ceased operations on December 31, 2013.