As television fans’ habits evolve and viewing figures decline, ITV’s soaps have been forced to move with the times – and not everyone is happy.
Coronation Street and Emmerdale’s TV schedule patterns have been slashed, now showing five 30-minute episodes each week instead of six, from January 2026.
Dubbed a soap ‘power hour’, it will see 30-minute Emmerdale episodes airing at 8pm and 30-minute Coronation Street episodes airing at 8:30pm – but the move represents a reduced broadcast time of 17%.
According to The Sun, this move has been in the works for three months and has seriously spooked the cast, who fear it could be a slippery slop towards fully on-demand soaps with no space in primetime TV schedules.
The new set-up has been called ‘streaming-friendly’ by ITV boss Kevin Lygo and is allegedly inspired by the Netflix model of flexible viewing.
It comes as budget cuts were announced by ITV, leaving staff members, including writers, crew members and even actors, at risk of redundancy.
+10
View gallery
A panicked David and Shona witness the blaze at the Platts’ home in scenes on Coronation Street
+10
View gallery
The beloved Gail Platt’s final scenes on ITV’s Coronation Street last year
+10
View gallery
Lou and Gemma talking in the pub on Coronation Street
Coronation Street staff were told in November that there would be less work available, according to The Sun.
A Coronation Street cast member described the loss of on episode every week ‘devastating’.
They said: ‘Losing the primetime 7pm and 7.30pm slots in the schedule, losing those hallmark hour-long episodes, it all adds up to a feeling that we’re are being sidelined and it’s devastating.
‘We’re all tremendously worried.’
They said that some fans enjoy the longer episodes and ‘waffle’ in between the dramatic moments.
‘And we hate the idea that people can just binge five episodes at the weekend. What’s the point in cliffhangers and tense endings that people can discuss with their friends the next day and look forward to the next episode,’ the source added.
They went on to argue that the change has stopped Coronation Street being ‘event TV’, creating moments that would go down in television history.
On the TV schedule changes, Kevin Lygo added they were ‘viewer-led’ with the aim to present the soaps ‘in the most digestable way’.
+10
View gallery
Blanche and Deirdre Hunt on Coronation Street in 1975
+10
View gallery
Scenes in Emmerdale showing Noah Dingle, left, Emma Dingle and Joe Tate
+10
View gallery
Characters Doug Potts and Brenda Hope in an Emmerdale episode from 2019
He added: ‘In a world where there is so much competition for viewers’ time and attention, and viewing habits continue to change, we believe this is the right amount of episodes that fans can fit into their viewing schedule, to keep up to date with the shows.’
The ITV boss went on to suggest viewers want ‘pacey storytelling,’ justifying the shorter episodes that he says ‘better provide the opportunity to meet viewer expectations for storyline pace, pay-off and resolution’.
He added: ‘This new commissioning pattern will mean five hours of soaps a week, rather than the current six.
‘We are conscious this will have an impact for the people who work on the soaps team. We will support our colleagues in ITV Studios as they work through these changes, and will do what we can to mitigate the impact on our people.
It comes as Coronation Street ratings reportedly plunged to a new low last month.
The 9pm to 10pm episode on January 9 was watched by 2.5 million people – just ten percent of the 27million who watched Hilda Ogden’s farewell back in its 1987 heyday.
+10
View gallery
Son-in-law Caleb talking to Anthony in Emmerdale scenes aired last month
+10
View gallery
Neighbours gather outside as the Platts’ home burst into flames on Coronation Street
The episode was moved from its usual Friday slot and time so the network could show the FA Cup clash between Aston Villa and West Ham.
As a result, Coronation Street was pitted against BBC’s reality game show The Traitors which pulled in five million viewers.
The show’s low ratings meant it lost its most-watched soap crown to Emmerdale with 3.5 million, while BBC’s EastEnders pulled in 2.8 million viewers.
While Coronation Street’s Christmas Day Special which saw Gail Platt, played by Helen Worth, leave after 50 years on the show only pulled in 2.6million viewers.
News
They Called Him “Too Broken” to Be Loved
I found Gunner at 2:15 in the morning because pregnancy had turned sleep into a rumor. By the seventh month, my body had become a country of strange laws. I was hungry at midnight, crying at detergent commercials, too hot…
His Last Wish Before Execution Was to See His Dog
The Last Request They told me I had three hours left to live. A man learns, in prison, that time can stretch until it becomes punishment of its own. Seven years had passed for me in clangs of steel, fluorescent…
I Adopted a Broken 190-Pound Mastiff
Chapter One Highway Dog At 2:07 in the morning, Mark Ellison saw the dog standing in the middle of Route 14 as if he had stepped out of the dark by mistake and no longer knew how to leave it….
Hands First
Kennel Fourteen By the time Ellie Mercer reached the end of the kennel row, every dog in Laurel Hill Animal Rescue had already done what dogs were supposed to do for visiting children. They had barked. They had jumped. They…
Atlas Waited
The Last Kennel On the day the shelter dogs were meant to charm a class of first graders into compassion, every dog did exactly what was expected. They barked. They jumped. They wagged themselves dizzy against kennel doors. They performed…
The Dog in My Father’s Jacket
The dog lay in the rain as if he had already been abandoned by more than people. Cars hissed past the curb, sending gray water into the gutter. Shoppers hurried beneath umbrellas, eyes forward, shoulders tucked against the wind….
End of content
No more pages to load
