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.
A panicked David and Shona witness the blaze at the Platts’ home in scenes on Coronation Street
The beloved Gail Platt’s final scenes on ITV’s Coronation Street last year
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’.
Blanche and Deirdre Hunt on Coronation Street in 1975
Scenes in Emmerdale showing Noah Dingle, left, Emma Dingle and Joe Tate
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.
Son-in-law Caleb talking to Anthony in Emmerdale scenes aired last month
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.
MailOnline has approached ITV for comment.
