ITV is to cut down its soap schedule by an hour a week, with Coronation Street and Emmerdale to be changed to half-hour instalments, the broadcaster has announced.
Coronation Street currently airs for three hour-long episodes a week, while Emmerdale is four 30-minute episodes and one hour-long instalment.
From January 2026, there will be a “soaps power hour” on weekdays with 30-minute Emmerdale episodes at 8pm and 30-minute Coronation Street episodes at 8.30pm.
Performing arts union Equity said the move, following the cancellation of BBC soap Doctors and the changes to Channel 4’s Hollyoaks schedule, gives it “further cause for concern”, but that ITV has assured it it “will not directly impact the cast or result in changes to pay or contracts”.
ITV boss Kevin Lygo said the change is “viewer-led” and will make the soaps more “streaming-friendly”.
The managing director of media and entertainment at ITV 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.”
However, Lygo acknowledged that the content being cut back from the current six hours a week to five 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,” he said.
“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.”
“ITV’s announcement today of cuts to episode numbers on Coronation Street and Emmerdale is further cause for concern.
“ITV have assured us that the reduction from six to five episodes per week on each soap from 2026 will not directly impact the cast or result in changes to pay or contracts. Equity is in contact with the casts and engaging with ITV to ensure that any potential negative impacts of these changes are minimal.
“We do know that fewer episodes will mean fewer opportunities for work for our members engaged as guest and supporting artists on these productions.
“This is a significant loss for our members in the North East and North West regions and continues the ongoing trend of fewer opportunities for screen work, especially in the regions and for early career actors.”
She added that the union will work “collectively to defend continuing drama and campaign for commitments from the broadcasters to secure the long-term future of these programmes which are so crucial to the health of UK production”.
Max!! ?
Tune in tomorrow at 8pm to find out what happens next!#Corrie pic.twitter.com/dxoDPaWp2I
— Coronation Street (@itvcorrie) February 3, 2025
Since first airing on December 9 1960, Coronation Street has gone through a number of scheduling changes.
It started with two episodes a week, which then increased over the years to six instalments by September 2017, before it was moved to three hour-long episodes a week in March 2022.
When Emmerdale began in 1972 it was screened on two days a week, which then increased over the years to six episodes by 2004, with the sixth later changed to one hour-long episode per week.
Both soaps have stunt storylines lined up for February, with Coronation Street’s kicking off on Monday when a mysterious fire broke out at the Platts’ house.
Emmerdale also has a dramatic storyline in the works, filmed over a series of night shoots, which centres on two limousines getting into danger, with one left teetering over a treacherous frozen lake.
ITV has said both soaps will feature an “ambitious, never-before-seen stunt” as part of a week of special episodes in the 2026 schedule.
