Coronation Street and Emmerdale confirm 'cuts' in scheduling shake-up
Soap enthusiasts will need to adjust their viewing habits as ITV confirms a new schedule for Coronation Street and Emmerdale, reducing the number of soap episodes. Currently, Corrie airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8pm to 9pm.
It began with two weekly episodes on December 9, 1960, before increasing to three in October 1989, four in November 1996, five in October 2002, and six in September 2017. In March 2022, it moved to three one-hour episodes per week.
Meanwhile, Emmerdale airs at 7.30pm for half-an-hour on weekdays, except Thursdays when it runs for an hour. The show started with two weekly daytime episodes in 1972, increased to five in 2000, and six in 2004.
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However, ITV announced on Tuesday (February 4) that from January 2026, both soaps will adopt a new scheduling pattern on ITV1, introducing a 'soaps power hour' from Monday to Friday, with 30-minute Emmerdale episodes at 8pm, followed by 30-minute Coronation Street episodes at 8.30pm. Episodes will continue to be available at 7am on ITVX, prior to evening transmission.
Fans of both soaps will be seeing half an hour less of their favourite shows each week, as it has been announced that one episode per week will be cut from the schedule. However, the start of the 2026 schedule will kick off with a bang, as both soaps are planning an ambitious, never-before-seen stunt as part of a week of special episodes, reports the Manchester Evening News.
This decision aligns with research insights from 2024, which showed that 30-minute episodes attracted higher audiences and provided more digestible instalments of drama that better suited changing viewer habits. ITV claims these changes will ensure it remains the 'premier home of soap', backing the genre more than any other broadcaster in the market.
Kevin Lygo, ITV's Managing Director of Media and Entertainment, stated: "The new commissioning pattern is viewer-led. We already give more choice than ever to viewers on how they watch us through ITVX and we want to present their favourite soap to them, in the most digestible way."
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. Research insights also show us that soap viewers are increasingly looking to the soaps for their pacey storytelling. Streaming-friendly, 30-minute episodes better provide the opportunity to meet viewer expectations for storyline pace, pay-off and resolution."
"Whilst viewing is growing on ITVX, we know a significant proportion of our soaps' audience still watch us via the schedule. This new pattern is in the DNA of the soap genre - nobody else does 30 minute drama this successfully. It creates a soap power hour that's consistent, and easy to find in the linear schedule, for the UK's biggest soaps."
The statement then 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.
"These changes are motivated by doing what we believe is best for the continuing success of these important programmes in the long term. They also create headroom in the overall programme budget for investment in programming that can help ITV grow reach in a very very competitive market."