The issue dates were on Tuesdays, but changed to Mondays beginning with the Apissue. Soap Opera Digest originally published monthly, moved to triweekly issues in 1979, biweekly issues in 1980, and on April 1, 1997, started publishing weekly.

began publishing Soap Opera Digest in 2011. K-III was renamed Primedia in 1997, and sold its magazines to Source Interlink in 2007.

Murdoch sold Soap Opera Digest to K-III Communications in 1991. According to Ritterman, he'd purchased the magazine at 750,000 subscribers and sold it at 1.3 million. Ritterman had owned Soap Opera Digest for three years before selling it to Murdoch Magazines Ritterman earned more than $50 million from his share of the $70 million purchase price. Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation bought the magazine from Gerry M. In 1980, Network Publishing Corporation purchased the magazine from Shapiro, who went on to found Soap Opera Update. In the early 1990s, the magazine had up to 1.4 million subscribers. Soap Opera Digest debuted in November 1975, co-founded by Angela Shapiro and Jerome Shapiro and featuring actors John Aniston, Ron Tomme, Audrey Peters, Birgitta Tolksdorf, Jerry Lacy, and Tudi Wiggins of Love of Life on its first cover.

Soap opera digest subscriptions