ITV confirms schedule changes for Coronation Street and Emmerdale during Euro 2020
Soap fans are getting a treat while the football is on.
We have known for a couple of days now that the BBC was doing something unusual with EastEnders while the Euro 2020 tournament was on – adding each weeks’ EastEnders episodes to iPlayer ahead of the show’s transmission on BBC One.
As for the ITV soaps, we understood that the plan was for them to air almost as normal, just with hour-long episodes and at slightly different times when they clashed with one of the games the channel was showing.
It turns out that is no longer the case and while Coronation Street and Emmerdale will still be shown on ITV, they too will be uploaded to streaming first, on the ITV Hub, so fans can binge watch the whole week without having to wait!
This will kick off from June 14th and will remain the case for four weeks – the BBC only have it planned for three weeks for EastEnders.
Speaking about the decision, Coronation Street boss, Ian McLeod said: “There are loads of key rivalries across the Cobbles this summer and I think it will be like following your favourite team - there will be times where they let you down, make mistakes and maybe score a few own goals. But you’ll back them till the end and woe betide anyone else who criticises them.
Given how exciting the stories are, it’s great that fans will have the chance to binge-watch all the episodes on ITV Hub at the start of each week - as with football, sometimes when it’s an exciting face-off, you really want extra time.”
And it will be an exciting time for fans of both soaps as they gear up for a big summer of dramatic storylines that you will not want to miss.
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So in two weeks’ time, Monday’s can now be a big soap day with a whole week of new episodes ready to watch on the same day for Coronation Street, Emmerdale and EastEnders – which should placate fans who usually voice their displeasure at their favourite soap being shunted around the schedule for the latest big sporting event.
The only question now is, if this proves to be a success, could this be a new way forward for how we consume our soaps?
Visit our dedicated Coronation Street and Emmerdale pages for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch check out our TV guide.
