When is Emmerdale on this week? ITV schedule sees EFL Cup football return
ITV’s football coverage is wreaking havoc with the TV timetable once again, leaving soap fans fuming.
The summer of sport-related schedule shake-ups is set to continue, with Emmerdale once again caught in the crosshairs.
When is Emmerdale on this week?
ITV confirmed it was launching the ‘soap power hour’ scheduling pattern for Emmerdale and Coronation Street back in February 2025.
It features 30-minute episodes of both on ITV1, with Emmerdale at 8pm followed by Coronation Street at 8.30pm every weekday.
But due to a string of massive sporting events, this has not regularly been the case for months now.
The good news is that Emmerdale will be broadcast in its usual 8pm slot on four nights this week.
But there is no episode on Friday, August 7 – ITV1 is showing the first-round EFL Cup tie between Middlesbrough and Wrexham.
Coverage starts at 7.30pm and finishes at 10.25pm, with kick-off at 8pm – when Emmerdale would usually start.
Mark Pougatch is fronting the coverage from Riverside Stadium, where Boro will be desperate to avoid a repeat of last season, when they were knocked out by Doncaster Rovers 4-0 at home.
Wrexham enjoyed a longer run in the tournament, reaching the fourth round before losing to Welsh rivals Cardiff City 2-1.
Tommy Smith and Steven Fletcher are providing analysis, while commentary comes from Seb Hutchinson and Lucy Ward.
So this week’s Emmerdale schedule is as follows:
- Monday, August 3 – 8pm – 8.30pm
- Tuesday, August 4 – 8pm – 8.30pm
- Wednesday, August 5 – 8pm – 8.30pm
- Thursday, August 6 – 8pm – 8.30pm
- Friday, August 7 – No episode
All episodes are available to stream on ITVX from 7am on the days Emmerdale airs.
The Friday night schedule shake-up is just the latest in a long run of disruptions caused by the broadcaster’s sport coverage.
A source said: “It’s proving quite the headache behind the scenes.
“Soap fans have already had to get used to the new slots, which came in at the beginning of the year, so with more changes coming there’s a real fear they could lose more viewers.
“Airing the episodes on a Sunday just does not work and now with the new schedule it’s very unlikely they’ll be able to run before these big World Cup matches start.
“There are lots of discussions behind the scenes about what they can do.”
Taking to Facebook, one fan posted: “Thought things would go back to normal after the World Cup ended? Unfortunately there’s no Emmerdale or Coronation Street this Friday as the Carabao Cup airs on ITV1.”
Another helpfully suggested: “Football should have its own channel!!!!”
While a third said: “Oh my goodness, not again, I thought it was all over.”
ITV director of television Kevin Lygo previously said: “The new commissioning pattern is viewer-led.
“We already give more choice than ever to viewers on how they watch us through ITVX and we want to present their favourite soap to them in the most digestible way.”
He added: “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, payoff and resolution.”
