NBC's Last Soap Opera Moves to Peacock

 "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of Our Lives."  

Those words began each episode of the long running NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives but after 57 years and more than 14,000 episodes, the last sand will go through the hourglass on September 9 as the network will move the show to its streaming service Peacock beginning September 12.  However, it will available to premium subscribers who pay a $4.99 per month fee.  

The switch to streaming marks the end of an era for NBC.  The network, which has been home to soaps such as Another World, The Doctors and Sunset Beach will have none on the air.  

The main reason for the switch is declining ratings.  Days of Our Lives is the lowest rated of the four surviving soap operas, trailing CBS's The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful and ABC's General Hospital, the longest running of the daytime soaps.  

Days of Our Lives made its debut on November 8, 1965, replacing a short-lived Canadian produced serial Moment of Truth.  The show struggled in the ratings for three years and was on the verge of cancellation but it gained viewers and by January 1975, it moved to 1:30 ET, which was a problem time period for the last seven years due to the departure of Let's Make a Deal to ABC.  Three months later, Days of Our Lives expanded to an hour and it's been that way ever since.  

There have been many cast members over the show's 57 run, including several who went on to greater success on other shows.  They include Deidre Hall, who starred in a Sunday family drama that featured a young Shannen Doherty, Our House; Jed Allan, who hosted Celebrity Bowling; Alison Sweeney (still on) hosting The Biggest Loser and Charles Shaughnessy, who later played Maxwell Sheffield in the sitcom The Nanny.  

Days of Our Lives has built a solid fan base that includes a number of celebrity fans.  Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall was known for calling recess so he can catch up on the latest doings in the show's fictitious town of Salem.  Actress Julia Roberts and a former aide to then president Bill Clinton Monica Lewinsky.  Can the fan base sustain itself when it moves to Peacock?