Although they are operating a little bit under the radar, one cable network everyone should keep an eye on in the coming months is Disney-owned SOAPnet. The cable network recently acquired the rights from Warner Bros. Domestic Television to air the first four seasons of former teen high-flier "The O.C." and The CW's "One Tree Hill." Both shows will debut on SOAPnet on Monday, April 9th. The lead-in for the newly acquired programming will be SOAPnet's current number one show (or soap as they like to call it) among 18-34 year old women and still my all time favorite teen drama: "Beverly Hills 90210." Although "The O.C." grabbed most of the recent headlines with the conclusion of the series on Fox a couple of weeks ago to its ratings decline over the past year, the show seemed to gain momentum of late, and we received feedback from several (but clearly not enough to save the show) panelists, females mostly, that were quite upset that it was ending. The extinction term used to describe "The O.C." now seems to be only a hiatus instead. We believe the real coup for SOAPnet is "One Tree Hill." Still airing on The CW, the show has been a fixture on our Top Ten List report for television shows over the past year, and should provide a nice boost for SOAPnet's ratings.
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