History of Soap Operas

Soap operas started as serialised drama on radio stations in the US in the 1930's. They were given the name 'Soap Operas' by newspapers because the shows were often sponsored by companies which made household products such as washing powder, soap and cleaning products. The genre has continued to expand globally and dominates mainstream TV schedules.

As the first soaps which started out in America on the radio were so popular, such as 'Ma Perkins', were so popular, it was decided to televise these shows.

Although soaps took off extremely well they did not have the same impact in Britain. The first radio soap was not aired in Britain until after the second world war.

An example of an early British soap would be The Grove Family which started in 1954 and ended in 1957.


















There is a big contrast between running time of this soap compared to one such as Coronation street which began in 1960 and still runs to this day.

I gathered this information by looking on websites including:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1087193
http://soap-operas.lovetoknow.com/History_of_Soap_Operas