When you think about it, the concept of the soap opera is strange simply thanks to the name itself as there appears to be nothing connected to soap for this term to be used. While that may appear to be the case today, you need to venture back a few decades to when the soap opera originated to see why it is indeed referred to in this way.
These forms of drama were initially created for the radio and they consisted of episodes that were only in the region of 15 minutes long. The dramas themselves were often sponsored by soap companies as the aim was to encourage women to buy their soap over and above any of the competitors. As a result, the idea of the soap opera was indeed born and even though they have evolved somewhat from these earliest days, the title ‘soap opera’ has managed to stand the test of time.