Coronation Street and Emmerdale fans are facing another change to their usual viewing plans, with both ITV soaps set to be taken off air next week to make way for live football.
The latest schedule shake-up will see an evening of Weatherfield and Yorkshire drama replaced by a Carabao Cup clash, marking yet another interruption for soap fans after a summer packed with sporting changes.
Football takes prime-time slot
ITV has confirmed that the second round of the Carabao Cup will get a prime-time slot on ITV1 on Tuesday, August 25, with Nottingham Forest taking on Leeds United. The match is due to kick off at 8pm at Nottingham’s City Ground, meaning Emmerdale will lose its usual 8pm slot while Coronation Street will also be missing from the schedule later in the evening.
Instead of heading to the Dales for the latest developments before settling in for an episode of Corrie, viewers will have to tune into the football if they want to stick with ITV.
Disruption after summer of changes
The decision comes as ITV continues its deal with the English Football League, giving football fans the chance to watch the cup tie for free on the main channel. For soap viewers, however, it is another disruption to an already rather chaotic summer schedule.
Earlier this year, the soaps were affected by coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with episodes moved around to accommodate live matches. Now, with the domestic football season getting underway, it looks like the clashes between soaps and sport aren’t quite over yet.
Future sporting events loom
Looking further ahead, ITV is also set to have exclusive UK broadcasting rights for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, which will take place in Australia from October 1 to November 13. All 37 matches are expected to air on ITV, with the time difference between Australia and the UK meaning some games will get underway during the early morning.
That could create another headache for ITV’s daytime line-up, with matches scheduled to start between around 4am and 10am. Good Morning Britain, This Morning and Loose Women could all potentially face interruptions or changes to their usual schedules as a result.
For now, though, it’s the soaps that are bearing the brunt of the latest football clash, and the timing could be particularly frustrating as both shows have been building up plenty of storylines across the summer.
