ITV has announced schedule changes for its flagship soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street due to the FIFA World Cup, prompting backlash from fans. The soaps typically air at 8pm and 8.30pm on weeknights in what ITV calls the "soaps power hour." However, for the week starting Monday June 29, neither soap will air on Monday night. From Tuesday to Friday, Emmerdale will air at 7.15pm, while Coronation Street will broadcast between 8.15pm and 8.45pm.
Fan Reactions on Social Media
ITV announced the changes in an Instagram post: "Team Soap fans, here's your fixture changes for this week!" Many viewers were unimpressed. One commenter wrote: "It does my head in that things get moved for football. We are not all fans." Another said: "I do not understand in an age of stream everything why do soaps have to miss days? Surely boomers like me can stream."
Another viewer urged: "Please ITV can we upload episodes onto ITVX at the beginning of the week and not have this malarkey going on! It's very stressful for people like me who are autistic and need routine." One fan suggested: "Can't we just miss the soaps only when England plays," while another confessed they were "sick" of the football.
Calls for Alternative Solutions
Some viewers proposed moving football to dedicated sports channels. One person remarked: "Football should go on the sports channels because that's what it's classified as, so put it on there, you're going to get the same figures." Another suggested: "I just don't get why they can't put them on ITV2 or on ITVX instead of messing soap fans around. Plus I don't understand why we need to show every single game if it's not a home game."
However, not all reactions were negative. One viewer said: "At least we have almost every day not only three like the past week, I am so glad for this." Another pointed out: "For some people football really helps their mental health. Football isn't just simply people kicking a ball around the pitch."
Emmerdale and Coronation Street air on ITV.
