Coronation Street and Emmerdale announce huge schedule change with early ITVX drops

It's part of ITV's "strategy to offer our viewers ultimate choice in how they watch our programmes", according to the broadcaster.

That means that fans of Corrie and Emmerdale can enjoy episodes ahead of their release on ITV1 that evening; whether choosing to catch up over breakfast or later in the day, the choice will be yours.

The last time that ITV did an early soaps release was earlier this year for the Olympics and the Euros, as well as back in 2022 in light of the World Cup.

Implemented as a way of ensuring fans could catch up on their favourites if they were to be replaced by football fixtures, episodes of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale were made available to stream on ITVX as a box set each Monday morning for the World Cup.

For the Olympics, fans were able to enjoy episodes from 7am on ITVX - but it's no longer just a summer treat, thankfully.

As well as the exciting ITVX episode drop news, ITV has also announced that there will be a new dedicated soaps page on ITVX, after viewing figures for both Emmerdale and Coronation Street have grown by around 30 per cent in 2024.

The new page on ITVX will not only be housing classic episodes of Crossroads and have some fan-favourite soap stars introducing classic soap episodes or selecting their ITVX favourites, oh no.

It will also be a hub for the celebration of some of soap's best stars and their more recent projects in ITVX's new 'Stars of the Soaps collection'.

For example, many will know Suranne Jones for her role in Corrie as Karen McDonald, but of course, the acclaimed actress has gone on to star in ITV's Maryland.

Similarly, Katherine Kelly is known for her role as Becky McDonald, but why not stream The Long Shadow, where she stars as Emily Jackson?

Read more:

• Coronation Street airs Damon Hay cameo – will he be back?
• Emmerdale reveals Billy Fletcher's dangerous secret amid injury

As well as that new rail on ITVX, there will also be a 'Greatest Episodes' rail, dedicated to classic Coronation Street and classic Emmerdale, as well as 'Top Picks', which will include Nolly, the Noele Gordon biopic starring Helena Bonham Carter.

On the announcement of the news, Craig Morris, managing editor of ITV Channels and ITVX, said: "The positive response when we made the soaps available at 7am during the Euros and the Olympics this year shows that audiences want to choose when to watch their favourite soap, and the new dedicated destination on ITVX is a fitting home for the nation’s biggest and best continuing dramas.

"Now you can choose when to enjoy your daily dose of drama - whether during the morning commute, over lunch or at a time that suits you each evening."

Similarly, Iain MacLeod, executive producer for continuing drama at ITV, said: "This is great news for soap fans! Having the ability to catch your favourite show at a time that suits you fits perfectly with people’s busy days and flexible lives.

"And who doesn’t love the idea of watching the latest Dingle drama in the Dales or calamity on the cobbles on the tram to work, or over a brew after dropping the kids at school?

"As a soap nerd, I should also say that the new soap page is an absolute treat. It’s a one-stop shop for fans of Coronation Street and Emmerdale, and it will now be so easy to enjoy your favourite shows, and delve into their illustrious histories and beyond."

The new dedicated Soap area on ITV can be accessed through the Dive Deeper into ITVX… rail through the new Soap collection area.

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