Holy Soap
Encyclopedia
Holy Soap is a UK television and entertainment website founded in June 2009 by the British television company Channel 5. The website is the official UK home of the Australian soap operas Home and Away
and Neighbours
, which are broadcast on the channel. The site allows users to watch full episodes of the soaps on the day they are broadcast, as well as providing additional information about the cast and characters. Holy Soap also includes news and features from four British soap operas that are not broadcast on Channel 5. On 30 June 2011, Holy Soap announced that it was closing.
, Emmerdale
, Coronation Street
and Hollyoaks
. Links to full episodes of the British soaps are also included. Images, cast and character profiles and exclusive interviews are available on the site for each of the soaps.
The site does not have any branding, so it attracts viewers who are interested in soaps on different channels. It was designed by Taglab and developed by Unboxed Consulting. Five Sales sell the video advertising around the episodes and previews of Home and Away and Neighbours, while digital media agency Unanimis, sell the display advertising on the site. Holy Soap forms part of Five's Digital Media Group platform, which also includes FiveFwd, a website aimed at fans of cars and gadgets.
On the launch of the site, Channel 5's head of digital media, Jonathan Lewis said: "We're not precious. We know that soap fans have voracious appetites and that many of the same people who love Neighbours and Home and Away love the soaps on the other channels, too. So it makes sense to construct a destination where individuals can share their love of all the big soaps on TV".
On 30 June 2011, Holy Soap announced that it was closing that day and the Australian soap operas, Neighbours and Home and Away, were being moved to a new online home at channel5.com.
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
and Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
, which are broadcast on the channel. The site allows users to watch full episodes of the soaps on the day they are broadcast, as well as providing additional information about the cast and characters. Holy Soap also includes news and features from four British soap operas that are not broadcast on Channel 5. On 30 June 2011, Holy Soap announced that it was closing.
Format
In June 2010, Channel 5 launched Holy Soap and it became the official UK website for the two Australian soap operas, Home and Away and Neighbours. Holy Soap replaced the programmes' stand-alone sites in the UK. The website allows viewers to watch full episodes of the soaps on the day they are broadcast, as well as previous episodes up to thirty days after they have aired. The site also includes news, gossip and video spoilers from British soap operas; EastEndersEastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
, Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
and Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
. Links to full episodes of the British soaps are also included. Images, cast and character profiles and exclusive interviews are available on the site for each of the soaps.
The site does not have any branding, so it attracts viewers who are interested in soaps on different channels. It was designed by Taglab and developed by Unboxed Consulting. Five Sales sell the video advertising around the episodes and previews of Home and Away and Neighbours, while digital media agency Unanimis, sell the display advertising on the site. Holy Soap forms part of Five's Digital Media Group platform, which also includes FiveFwd, a website aimed at fans of cars and gadgets.
On the launch of the site, Channel 5's head of digital media, Jonathan Lewis said: "We're not precious. We know that soap fans have voracious appetites and that many of the same people who love Neighbours and Home and Away love the soaps on the other channels, too. So it makes sense to construct a destination where individuals can share their love of all the big soaps on TV".
On 30 June 2011, Holy Soap announced that it was closing that day and the Australian soap operas, Neighbours and Home and Away, were being moved to a new online home at channel5.com.
Reception
Gavin Reeder of Media Week reviewed the website and said that it "doesn't realise its potential" and that it "needs to have more personality and sense of humour". He added "There are some nice little snippets and gems about future storylines. However, it feels like it lacks the editorial investment required to become a portal for soap news and doesn't differentiate itself from the tabloids and TV mags with a range of video content or the immediacy that only online can deliver". Since its launch in 2009, between 25% and 30% of the traffic to the site is to the non-Five programmes. In December 2009, it was announced that Holy Soap, combined with FiveFwd and Five Casino, formed the "fastest growing group of websites among all major UK broadcasters".External links
- Press release about launch
- Holy Soap on TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...