Coronation Street and Emmerdale viewers will miss out on regular episodes of the ITV soaps next week as the broadcaster makes way for two sporting events, a decision which has left fans unhappy
Emmerdale and Coronation Street fans fume as soaps pulled from schedules
Emmerdale and Coronation Street fans have been left furious after discovering episodes have been pulled from the air next week. The two ITV soaps were reduced from six episodes a week to five at the beginning of this year amid the broadcaster’s budget cuts, and now viewers will lose out on even more.
With a crossover special known as Corriedale in early January, the two long-running programmes launched into a new scheduling format marketed as the ‘soap power hour,’ with Emmerdale airing for half an hour each weeknight at 8pm, and then Coronation Street following immediately after.
The new airing pattern has not gone down well with all viewers, and now, some fans have been left raging after discovering they will lose two episodes of each programme next week as ITV makes way for sports to air. On Tuesday, Arsenal vs Chelsea EFL Live will be on screen instead, and on Thursday, a Six Nations match between France and Ireland will be shown instead.
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One fan labelled the decision as “stupid” as the soap power hour had only just kicked in
Not happy with the sudden schedule changes, one fan took to social media to vent: “I remember the times we used to get episodes moved to other times because of the football (even last year), but now it seems like the new standard is simply no episode at all on the football/sports days!”
Another said: “This is stupid. So they already cut all the extra episodes going from 6 to 5 per week. Now every other week it seems they lose another episode. So in 2026 how many fewer episodes will there really be compared to 2025.”
A third wrote: “This whole new schedule is a ploy to tear our beloved soap episodes away from us!” and another said: “This is so painful. There are very few shows that I like to watch but they keep being shunted.” Another said: “I am fed up of soaps being cancelled due to football. Can’t they put the games on a dedicated ‘free’ channel?”
A sixth viewer then chimed in, writing: “I agree. Sports should not be on when the soaps are on and at the same time. Leaves you waiting days to wonder what is happened.”
When Coronation Street began in 1960, it became a staple of linear television viewing, and Emmerdale, which initially aired as a daytime soap, followed in 1972. Both programmes have been through a number of scheduling patterns throughout their long history, and have varied from two to five weekly instalments over the decades. Following the advent of streaming, viewers have been able to watch new episodes from 7am on the day of broadcast, on both ITVX and YouTube.
The new pattern was kicked off with the Corriedale crossover last month
A statement from the broadcaster last year explained the changes: “From January 2026, Coronation Street and Emmerdale will move to a new scheduling pattern on ITV1, introducing a soaps power hour from Monday-Friday, with 30 minute Emmerdale episodes at 8pm, and 30 minute Coronation Street episodes at 8.30pm. Episodes will continue to drop at 7am on ITVX, before transmission that evening.”
ITV’s Managing Director of Media and Entertainment, Kevin Lygo, said at the time: “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.
“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.
“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.”
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