Reports emerged Wednesday that the Disney/ABC Television Group will be replacing SOAPnet with a channel aimed at young children in 2012.
Effective January 2012, SOAPnet will be replaced with Disney Junior, a Disney-themed network aimed at children ages two through seven.
“SOAPnet was created in 2000 to give daytime viewers the ability to watch time-shifted soaps, before multiplatform viewing and DVRs were part of our vocabulary,” said Disney Media Networks’ Anne Sweeney in a statement. “But today, as technology and our businesses evolve, it makes more sense to align this distribution with a preschool channel that builds on the core strengths of our company.”
In addition to re-airing episodes of daytime soaps, the network also runs past primetime series like “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “The OC.” Its viewership is solid, but going forward, Disney apparently felt there was more opportunity in programming for pre-schoolers.