Emmerdale’s World Cup changes explained as ITV soap is taken off air tonight
Emmerdale viewers will have to put up with a new schedule as the long-running Yorkshire-based soap, along with Coronation Street, is moved around to make way for the World Cup on ITV
Emmerdale has been taken off air to make way for the World Cup
Emmerdale has had to go through a schedule shake-up with the World Cup kicking off. The ITV soap, which first aired in 1972, normally airs at 8pm on a weekday evening for half an hour, serving as a lead-in to Coronation Street after the broadcaster launched a “soap power hour” earlier this year amid budget cuts.
But as the global sporting event is set to take centre stage, viewers of the Yorkshire-based soap will have to get used to new timings as long football broadcasts take over its usual slot. On Thursday night, both Emmerdale and Coronation Street have been taken off air to accommodate the Mexico v South Africa match, and no episode will be broadcast at all that evening.
Fans were not impressed that the episodes weren’t available to stream(Image: ITV)
Instead, Emmerdale will return to screens on Friday night at 8pm and air for a full hour, just ahead of Coronation Street airing from 9pm to 10pm. Following this, the programme will not air over the weekend and will return on Monday 15th June at 8pm for an hour-long instalment.
Another hour-long episode will be shown on Tuesday at 8pm, but that will be it for the week, leaving viewers with essentially four episodes compressed into two broadcasts.
The World Cup takes place every four years, and soap fans instantly took to social media to remind bosses that they have previously dealt with the “disruption” by making sure episodes appear ITVX ahead of time.
The World Cup is about to kick off(Image: Michael Yanow/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
However, on Thursday it became apparent that the episodes would drop as normal at 7am on the day of linear broadcast as no instalment of Emmerdale was available on the broadcaster’s streaming service.
One fan wrote on X: “Last World Cup @ITV had a proven plan to upload a full week of #Emmerdale on the Monday to the Hub ( @ITVX ) to reduce the impact of the event for all viewers.
“Have you got a plan in place this time to get through this period until normal service is resumed. Thanks,” whilst another said: “Nothing tonight oh joy the football is on!”
A third said: “I dont mind the football being on tonight cos that means 2 hours ish of #Emmerdale and #Corrie tomorrow but what the hell am I going to watch tonight.”
A fourth raged: “I’m sorry but @ITV has so many channels they could put the football on as to not interrupt the soap schedules. Why must you do it? Not everyone enjoys the #football #worldcup”
