Disney’s SOAPnet and Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution have struck an off-network deal for the cable network to acquire four seasons of Fox’s cancelled The O.C. and The CW’s One Tree Hill.
SOAPnet, seeking to acquire primetime fare that is compatible with its lineup of daytime soaps, has grabbed other Warner Bros. off-net properties in the past, including the short-lived Pasadena and the classic serialized drama, Dallas.
The O.C., airing at 6 p.m., and One Tree Hill, at 5 p.m., will debut as a Monday-Friday strip on the cable network beginning April 9.
SOAPnet will double-run Beverly Hills90210 at 3 and 4 p.m. in the hope that the show, the channel’s highest-scoring acquired series among women 18-34, will provide a lead-in boost to the new entries.
