History of Soap Opera

Soap operas started as serialised drama on radio in the US in the 1930's. Because they were often sponsored by companies which made household products like washing up powder, soap and cleaning materials, newspapers gave them the name 'soap operas'. The genre continued to expand globally and now mostly dominate peak-time mainstream TV schedules.
In the UK, soap operas first started on radio too. The first one (The Archers) first aired in 1951 on BBC radio and is still broadcasted today, making it the world's longest running soap. It still attracts over 5 million listeners, making up 25% of the radio listening population of the UK at that time of the evening.
Between 1954 and 1957, 148 episodes of a very early television serial named The Grove Family were aired. It was recorded live and only a few episodes were kept in the archives. The idea of a television serial led way to the types of soaps we see today. It wasn't until 1960's, however, when we first started to see these sorts of soaps, starting with Coronation Street. Other television serials soon followed, to compete with Coronation Street and over the next few decades, right up until the present day, new soaps have been created and cancelled in the ever growing industry.
British soap operas have generic conventions which decipher them from other television dramas. Some of these conventions are:

• Serial narratives told through a series of episodes



• They happen in real time



• Each episode begins with a hook and ends with a cliffhanger



• focus on family conflicts and romance



• Story lines which relate to real life issues (e.g. domestic violence)



• Centered around a neighbourhood



• Have a well-known theme tune and intro sequence



• Have a range of diverse characters for the audience to relate with

Nowadays, soap operas are incredibly popular. According to the coronation street wiki page, up to 12 million people have watched a single episode of Coronation Street in the UK this year. Compared to Spooks, which could only get 5.2 million views on it's opening episode, it is clear how popular soaps like Coronation Street actually are in the UK.

Soap Mind Maps

Soaps

Sources:

http://www.atvnewsnetwork.co.uk/today/index.php/atv-today/4067-monday-ratings-dci-banks-beats-spooks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_opera
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1087193