Kevin Lygo explains Coronation Street Itv Schedule Changes for 12 June
Coronation Street Itv Schedule Changes put Coronation Street and Emmerdale back into hour-long episodes on 12 June 2020, after ITV had already moved both soaps to 30-minute runs last year. Kevin Lygo said the shorter format is meant to present the shows “in the most digestible way” and fit the way viewers now watch them.
Kevin Lygo and ITV1
Kevin Lygo, ITV's Managing Director of Media and Entertainment, said: “We believe this is the right amount of episodes that fans can fit into their viewing schedule, to keep up to date with the shows,” adding that “Research insights also show us that soap viewers are increasingly looking to the soaps for their pacey storytelling.” He also said, “Streaming-friendly, 30-minute episodes better provide the opportunity to meet viewer expectations for storyline pace, pay-off and resolution.”
The practical effect starts before 12 June. Both soaps will air rare Sunday episodes on 7 June between 8pm and 9pm, and they will then return to their usual slots from 8pm on Monday, 8 June.
June 2020 Schedule
Tuesday, 9 June brings another gap, with the soaps off air because of the Women's European Qualifier between England and Ukraine from 7.30pm. On Wednesday, 10 June, Emmerdale moves to 7pm and Coronation Street follows at 7.30pm, before both are dropped again on Thursday, 11 June because of the World Cup opening ceremony.
Friday, 12 June is the clean reset. Emmerdale gets the 8pm hour, and Coronation Street gets its own hour at 9pm. That is the first date in the run where the soaps return to the longer format after the week of shifts and no-air nights.
Viewers and ITVX
Friday, 5 June is already a no-show, and the weeks around it show how tightly ITV is juggling sport, ceremony coverage and soap inventory. Coronation Street still airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX, while Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
For viewers, the message is simple: the soaps are not disappearing, but the cadence changes several times in one week before settling back into hour-long episodes on 12 June. ITV is betting that the shorter run helped, but this schedule puts the longer form back in front of an audience that has already been trained to expect 30-minute pacing.
