OWN to air 'One Life to Live' and 'All My Children'

LOS ANGELES, June 26 (UPI) -- The Oprah Winfrey Network says it is bringing the U.S. soap operas "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" back to television.

ABC canceled the decades-old daytime dramas in 2011, but The Online Network acquired the rights to the shows and revived them on the Internet this spring.

OWN said Wednesday it acquired the first 40 episodes of the new version of the series and will start airing them July 15, Monday through Thursday for 10 weeks.

"These shows have proven to be very popular with a significant, loyal fan base, not to mention Oprah herself is a big fan," OWN President Erik Logan said in a statement to TVGuide.com Wednesday. "Many of our viewers across numerous platforms have expressed their passion for the soaps so we are especially excited to air this limited engagement on OWN."

"We are really excited to bring OWN viewers and our audience at large an opportunity to catch up on All My Children and One Life to Live on traditional television," said Jeff Kwatinetz, the chief executive officer of Prospect Park Networks. "We look forward to our millions of fans enjoying the first 40 episodes of the shows."