On May 26, 2010, Disney Junior was officially announced as Disney Channels Worldwide's new preschool television brand. Replacing Playhouse Disney, Disney Junior would launch as a block on Disney Channel on February 14, 2011, and was to launch a 24-hour cable channel in January 2012, replacing Soapnet. On July 28, 2011, due to issues in reaching carriage deals for the new network, the launch of the Disney Junior channel was delayed to an unspecified date in early 2012. Disney Junior's launch date was later set to March 23, 2012. Disney also stated that on some providers, Disney Junior would be carried in parallel with Soapnet until the network is eventually phased out. The "Los Angeles Times" reported that some television providers had been hesitant to immediately drop Soapnet, as they "didn't want to risk legions of vocal soap opera fans getting into a lather, or worse, moving to a rival service."