Major Changes to ITV’s Soap Schedule
ITV is undergoing significant changes to its soap schedule, affecting the way two of its most popular shows, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, are aired. These adjustments have been made as part of a broader restructuring of the channel’s programming, particularly in response to major sporting events that are impacting viewership patterns.
Earlier this year, ITV introduced a new “soap power hour” format, which saw 30-minute episodes of both Emmerdale and Coronation Street (often referred to as Corrie) air back-to-back between 8pm and 9pm every weekday. This change reduced the weekly output of both soaps from six 30-minute episodes to five each. The move came after the two shows collaborated for a one-off crossover special called Corriedale in the previous year.
However, with the upcoming World Cup set to disrupt ITV’s regular schedule, further changes are being implemented. The World Cup will begin on 11 June, with the first group games taking place that day. A total of 104 matches will be played over the course of the tournament, and these events are already influencing the broadcast schedules of major networks.
Impact of the World Cup on Soap Episodes
The Women’s World Cup qualifier between Spain and England has already caused some episodes of Emmerdale and Coronation Street to be rescheduled. The episodes originally scheduled to air on Friday 5 June have been moved to Sunday 7 June at 8pm. Additionally, neither soap will air on Tuesday 9 June or Thursday 11 June. The Tuesday episode is affected by the Women’s European qualifier between England and Ukraine, while the Thursday episode is impacted by the World Cup opening ceremony.
On Wednesday 10 June, the episode will air an hour earlier at 7pm. To compensate for these changes, the soaps will play catch-up on Friday 12 June. During this time, two episodes of Emmerdale will air first, followed by two episodes of Coronation Street, from 8pm until 10pm.
Broadcasting Rights and Coverage of the World Cup
The World Cup will be shared between ITV and the BBC, with ITV securing the rights to broadcast the opening match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City on Thursday 11 June. ITV will also show England’s opening game against Croatia in Dallas. However, if England progresses through the knockout stages, the BBC will take over the majority of the coverage.
As is customary, the final match of the tournament will be broadcast by both free-to-air broadcasters, ensuring maximum accessibility for fans across the UK.
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