‘General Hospital,’ ‘Days of Our Lives’ & More: Best Ways to Stream Your Favorite Soaps Online
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Nothing does drama quite like a classic soap opera, and with streaming options dominating how we watch our favorite programs, we can stream old and new episodes wherever and wherever we want.
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For the first time in 60 years, though, the unions for writers and actors are on strike at the same time, which has shut down production on most TV and film productions. For daytime soaps fans, you can breathe a sigh of relief as it won’t be impacting soap operas … for now.
Why aren’t soaps being impacted? Well, according to Deadline, “SAG-AFTRA’s film and TV contract, which expires June 30, does not apply to SAG-AFTRA members working on soaps.” This is because soap opera actors operate under a different contract within SAG-AFTRA called the SAG-AFTRA National Code of Fair Practice for Network Television Broadcasting (aka the Network Code). That contract runs through July 2024, which means soaps actors are required to work regardless of the larger union being on strike. That’s right, everything from The Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful won’t be impacted by the ongoing strikes at this point.
Since soaps tend to work weeks to months in advance, production already has a lot of scripts to keep the shows running.
New content will continue being produced for the time being, meaning you won’t have to rewatch old episodes to keep yourself occupied until the strike comes to an end.
Keep reading for the best ways to stream soap operas online.
How to Watch Soaps Online
For those with cable, you can tune into CBS to watch The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, whereas you can see Days of Our Lives on Peacock, NBC Universal’s streaming platform and General Hospital on ABC. Make sure to refer to your provider’s channel guide to find what channel each on is on.
Don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on cable? There are affordable live TV network options with free trials such as Fubo and DirecTV Stream, which means you can watch your favorite soaps for free. You can subscribe to Hulu + Live TV, which gives you access to the entire Hulu library including Hulu Originals and FX shows as well as a ton of network TV channels — including ABC for $69.99/month.
DirecTV Stream
Price: $74.99/month $64.99/month
DirecTV Stream is currently offering a promo where you get $10 off for the first three months, after that you’ll pay as low as $74.99/month. Once the promo ends, you’ll have to pay $74.99/month for the Entertainment plan, which gives you 75+ channels, DVR storage and the unlimited screens to stream on. If you want additional channels, the Choice plan provides everything the Entertainment plan comes with along with 105+ channels and regional sports at no additional cost for $99.99/month after the trial ends.
With the Premier plan you’ll get everything that comes with the Choice plan as well as Max, Starz, Cinemax and Showtime for no additional cost at $154.99/month after the promo ends.
Other Ways to Stream Soaps
If you don’t watch every soap on TV, then you can save additional money by subscribing to the streamer its on. Subscribers to Hulu, Paramount+ and Peacock can watch current episodes of soaps for no additional cost, but for those without a subscription, you’ll need to sign up in order to watch.
Fans of The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful can watch new episodes on CBS.com or on the app, but you’ll need to log in with a provider. Paramount+ features not only CBS shows, but a library full of Paramount+ Originals and exclusive content including Praise This, 1883, Yellowstone, Scream VI, Beavis & Butthead, A Hollywood High and more starting at $4.99/month after a 7-day free trail. Paramount+ is also now the home of Showtime, which means if you want to catch up on Yellowjackets and more Showtime Originals, you can add the channel onto your subscription for $11.99/month.
To catch new episodes of General Hospital, you can watch it through ABC.com or on the app, but like with CBS, you’ll need a provider login. Otherwise, Hulu offers a selection of ABC shows as well as Hulu Originals and FX content including American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Abbott Elementary, White Men Can’t Jump, What We Do in the Shadows, The Handmaid’s Tale, Prey, Bob’s Burgers and more starting at $7.99/month after a 30-day free trial. If you love bundling, you can even add ESPN+ and Disney+ starting at $12.99/month.
Days of Our Lives is an NBC show that you can catch up on at Peacock.com or the app. Peacock is the only way you can tune into new episodes, with its most popular plan being $4.99/month, or you can save 17% with an annual plan from $49.99/year. You’ll be able to watch programs such as Bupkis, Mrs. Davis, Poker Face, Bel-Air, Poker Face, Yellowstone, The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip, Vanderpump Rules, Queens Court, The Traitors, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, Based on a True Story, Sick and other Peacock Originals in addition to NBC and Bravo shows, sports and more.
