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SoapNet Is Eyeing Two Spin-Off Networks

Cable World, Jan 20, 2003

Byline: JON LAFAYETTE

Tune in tomorrow and maybe SoapNet will have an evil twin or two.

Okay, so maybe it won't be so evil. But after three successful years, SoapNet GM Deborah Blackwell is plotting expansion plans for the network that has enabled a new generation of working women to watch ABC's daytime dramas.

This is the plotline. Having leveraged ABC's retransmission consent rights, Disney Cable Networks Group's SoapNet is already in nearly 30 million homes. Blackwell would like to put more soap operas on, but prime time is filled.

The answer: SoapNet 2.

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"We're working on our five-year plan now. The big topic is how quickly are we adding the soaps from the other networks," said Blackwell. "I hope that within this five-year period we'll be able to launch SoapNet 2."

She's also got a Spanish-language version of SoapNet in mind.

"ESPN is in many ways our model," Blackwell said. "There is so much new, fresh programming. It's natural for us to have a second and third channel."

The first channel was created around programs Disney already owned. Getting soaps produced by others means a tricky negotiation. But Blackwell said she's had serious discussions with Sony, another leading producer of soap operas for NBC and CBS.

A Sony spokesman acknowledged that there had been discussions but that they were some time ago.

Blackwell said it would be expensive for Sony, which has no significant cable presence, to launch a channel now, and it would be easier for them to license their shows to SoapNet.

Sony and Disney discussed a joint venture before SoapNet was launched, but the two sides couldn't come to a decision on which company would control the channel. Sony offers its soaps via its SoapCity Web portal.

In the meantime, SoapNet has been tweaking its own daytime lineup. Since adding Dynasty at 10 a.m. in November, Blackwell says ratings in that time slot have tripled. That has lifted other shows, including Knots Landing.

THE NEXT QUESTION:

*Could VOD be a more profitable way for operators and producers to allow viewers to catch up on their soaps?

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SoapNet Is Eyeing Two Spin-Off Networks

Cable World, Jan 20, 2003

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