Coronation Street fans have been left angry after discovering their usual Tuesday visit to the cobbles won’t be happening.
Coronation Street viewers have been dealt a blow after learning their usual Tuesday visit to Weatherfield has been scrapped just a week into the soap’s new schedule. ITV’s revamped “power hour” of soaps launched last week, following the dramatic Corriedale episode, and saw both Coronation Street and Emmerdale move to new time slots.
Under the updated schedule, Emmerdale airs in 30-minute episodes at 8pm from Monday to Friday, followed by Coronation Street at 8.30pm. However, ITV has already made a temporary change to the lineup — much to fans’ frustration.
On Tuesday (January 13), both soaps have been removed from their usual slots, and adding to viewers’ disappointment, there will be no early episodes available to stream on ITVX either.
Instead, the soaps will return to their usual 8pm–9pm slot on Wednesday (January 14). The schedule disruption is due to ITV airing live coverage of the Carabao Cup clash between Newcastle United and Manchester City, with coverage beginning at 7.30pm ahead of the 8pm kick-off.
It’s fair to say viewers were left confused when attempting to watch the episode that is normally released early on ITVX. One fan commented on a Coronation Street Facebook page: “No soaps tonight due to football.”
Another viewer added: “Football again.” A third fan vented their frustration, writing: “I’m absolutely gutted — I can’t believe they’ve taken another programme off yet again for football.”
Echoing those sentiments, one angry viewer commented: “Exactly! There are plenty of other channels that could show football.” A fifth person also said: “I was fuming. Not everyone wants to watch sport — it should be on a dedicated channel.”
Previously speaking about the new “power hour” of soaps, ITV’s director of television Kevin Lygo explained: “The updated commissioning approach is driven by viewers. Through ITVX, audiences already have more choice than ever in how they watch our programmes, and we want to deliver their favourite soaps in the most accessible format.
“At a time when there is intense competition for viewers’ time and attention, and viewing habits are constantly evolving, we believe this episode format is the right balance, allowing fans to keep up with the shows more easily.
“Our research also shows that soap audiences increasingly want fast-paced storytelling. Shorter, streaming-friendly 30-minute episodes are better suited to meeting expectations around story momentum, payoff and resolution.”
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