Soap opera fans in Australia will no longer be able to watch the sand slip through the iconic hourglass as Channel 9 announced that it will cut the U.S. soap "Days Of Our Lives" from its programme line-up.

The free-to-air network cited "commercial reasons" on Monday for its decision to axe the series from its 2pm timeslot. It is said to be revamping its timeslot.

The longest-running scripted daytime show, which was first broadcast on Nine in 1968, will continue to air until April 26, Friday. No word yet on its replacement.

It is still running in the U.S., where it remains under contract with NBC until September 2014.

Sony Pictures, which owns the studio, is pursuing other interested partners of the show in Australia.

This isn't the first time the network has axed a soap opera. In 2007, it also ditched another U.S. soap opera "The Young and the Restless" for a new talk show, "The Catch-Up," which unfortunately failed to catch up, and was cancelled after 79 episodes due to low ratings. The soap was then nabbed by Foxtel.

"Days of Our Lives" is one of the longest-running scripted shows in the world. It kicked off in the U.S. in 1965, and has since been distributed to various channels around the world.

It had also featured Australian actors, such as Bren Foster (as Quinn Hudson) and Thaao Penghlis (taking on the dual roles of the twins Tony and Andre DiMera).