Coronation Street and Emmerdale could be cancelled over summer as ITV schedule gets massive shake up
Coronation Street and Emmerdale could see cancellations over the summer as ITV wrestle with the World Cup schedule.
Soap fans are set for disrupted viewing this summer - thanks to the football world cup. As England look to win the trophy in the Canada, the US and Mexico, television lovers back in the UK could see their screen schedules in tatters thanks to fluctuating kick-off times.
The Fifa World Cup 2026 starts in June and broadcaster ITV is facing some tough decisions over the so-called 'soap power hour' - running from 8pm to 9pm each night showing Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
“It’s proving quite the headache behind the scenes," The Sun reported a source saying. “Soap fans have already had to get used to the new slots, which came in at the beginning of the year, so with more changes coming there’s a real fear they could lose more viewers.
“Airing the episodes on a Sunday just does not work and now with the new schedule it’s very unlikely they’ll be able to run before these big World Cup matches start. There are lots of discussions behind the scenes about what they can do.”
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During previous big events, ITV has opted to stream episodes on ITVX each morning, with more recent episodes being cancelled due to big-match broadcasts. TV insiders said schedules are not yet finalised for the summer.
It comes as the channel recently announced the new soaps power hour schedule – along with its ITVX first broadcast pattern – had led to a huge surge in streaming viewers, with audiences up 48% year on year.
Emmerdale and Coronation Street saw 65 million streams in January, 10 million higher than the next nearest monthly total on record. Corriedale was also ITV’s biggest programme in January, with an audience of 5.9 million across consolidated TV and streaming.