ITV has confirmed that it is set to consult with the staff of its popular soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale regarding potential job cuts, following an announcement on Tuesday about a significant alteration to the airing schedule of both shows.
Starting next year, viewers will receive five hours of content per week instead of the current six, with Emmerdale airing a 30-minute episode each day at 8pm, and Coronation Street following directly afterwards at 8:30pm – a move ITV has branded as their ‘soap power hour’.
Due to the revised broadcasting timetable, around 12 per cent of soap staff may face redundancy.
Insiders predict that out of the 600 individuals employed across the two programmes, approximately 75 roles are expected to be cut, reports the Mirror.
“From 2026, and if the proposals are agreed, through consultation we would expect around 75 roles to be made redundant,” shared one source.
ITV is focusing on reducing impact by not replacing vacancies and through voluntary redundancies, with a spokesperson stating, “We can’t say for sure at this stage as we will be entering into a consultation process with staff. Our aim is to achieve as many as we can through voluntary redundancy and filling vacancies.”
Emmerdale currently airs daily with half-hour episodes, including a special hour-long episode every Thursday, while Coronation Street is broadcast on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm for an hour.
However, this schedule will change in 2026, according to ITV’s Managing Director of Media and Entertainment, Kevin Lygo.
He explained that the decision to alter the schedule was driven by viewer preferences. “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 said.
He added: “In a world where there is so much competition for viewers’ time and attention, and viewing habits continue to change, 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.”
He added that research insights indicate that soap viewers are increasingly seeking pacey storytelling, and that 30-minute episodes better meet these expectations.
“This new commissioning pattern will mean five hours of soaps a week, rather than the current six. We are conscious this will have an impact for the people who work on the soaps team.
“We will support our colleagues in ITV Studios as they work through these changes, and will do what we can to mitigate the impact on our people.
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“These changes are motivated by doing what we believe is best for the continuing success of these important programmes in the long term. They also create headroom in the overall programme budget for investment in programming that can help ITV grow reach in a very very competitive market,” he concluded.
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