Fans of Emmerdale and Coronation Street should note that ITV1 will be showing a football match this week, resulting in changes to the usual schedule.
These well-loved soaps are often moved to make room for football coverage, and the same is happening again on this occasion.
Below are the details of what is changing and which episodes will be affected by the scheduling adjustment.
The England versus Uruguay match will commence broadcasting at 7pm on ITV1 on Friday, March 27, with kickoff at 7.45pm.
Due to the clash with the regular soap slots, both Emmerdale and Coronation Street have modified their usual programming times.
Emmerdale normally starts at 8pm on ITV1 from Monday to Friday, but the episode due on Friday, March 27 will not be broadcast. Instead, an episode will air at 6pm on Sunday, March 29.
Coronation Street generally comes on at 8.30pm on the same channel Monday through Friday, but Friday’s edition will not be shown. However, the programme will air on Sunday as well, with an episode beginning once Emmerdale finishes, at 6.30pm on ITV1.
Aside from these alterations for the England fixture, both soaps will stick to their regular timetables for the rest of the week.
On Reddit, viewers shared their thoughts about the scheduling change, questioning why the soaps had to be moved to accommodate football. One user suggested that ITV could broadcast the football on alternative channels such as ITV2 or ITV4. Another person responded with agreement, noting that the reason for using the main channel was likely contractual obligations requiring matches to be shown on the most prominent channel. A third person questioned whether the entire country cared enough about football to justify moving and cancelling soaps, suggesting the sport should be moved to another channel such as ITV4.
In 2025, ITV announced changes to its soap programming that impacted both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
From January 2026, the channel launched a weekday soaps power hour, with 30-minute Emmerdale instalments at 8pm followed by 30-minute Coronation Street episodes at 8.30pm.
Previously, Coronation Street ran three hour-long episodes per week, while Emmerdale showed four half-hour episodes and one longer instalment.
In May 2025, ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall said the company was making good progress on a cost-cutting programme, expecting £30 million in non-content savings during 2025.
The broadcaster also made alterations to its prominent daytime offerings, including Good Morning Britain and Lorraine.
From January this year, Good Morning Britain was lengthened by 30 minutes, while Lorraine Kellys morning show was reduced to 30 minutes for 30 weeks each year.