This week, Emmerdale and Corrie both announced that they would be airing their daily episodes of the soaps early on ITVX due to the Olympics.
With the Olympics being a big TV highlight at the moment, the soaps are making sure that fans are still able to watch the sporting action as well as the latest Weatherfield and Dales drama.
Now, fans of the ITV soaps are calling for this temporary schedule change to become permanent.
Emmerdale and Corrie air early on ITVX
Emmerdale usually airs at 7.30pm for half an hour on weekdays, with the exception of Thursdays where the soap airs for an hour.
Coronation Street follows on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, airing for one hour between 8pm-9pm.
This week though, ITV has announced that the latest episodes of the soaps will be made available from the earlier time of 7am. Fans can now watch the episodes from 7am on the day they’re due to air.
Rival BBC soap EastEnders usually follows a similar format, releasing its episodes at 6am on iPlayer. ITV has now taken a leaf out of EastEnders’ book – but only whilst the Olympics coverage is airing.
Taking to social media yesterday (Monday, July 29), the Emmerdale and Corrie official X pages shared: “We’re giving you a little treat this summer whilst the Olympics are on.
“On each day of transmission, you can find Emmerdale and Corrie episodes on ITVX at 7am!”
Emmerdale and Corrie fans call for permanent ITVX change
With fans now being able to watch the ITV soaps just that little bit earlier, they’re now calling for this change to become permanent.
They’re loving how they can now fit the soaps around their own schedule, hoping that this continues long after the Olympics finish.
One fan hoped: “The convenience really makes a difference when you work unsociable hours – thanks, if successful, please consider it as a permanent feature, except during big stories/episodes that have to be viewed as a nation together.”
Another fan added: “This should be a permanent thing. The other soaps are releasing their episodes early every week.”
A third person finished: “Should just do it permanently like BBC do with Eastenders.”
However, the new change hasn’t gone down well with everyone, with one fan fearing that this could see the ITV soaps be scrapped from mainstream TV and only shown on ITVX going forward.
One fan worried: “Guys please, if you can, watch Emmerdale and Corrie on mainstream TV and not ITVX because the last time ITV mentioned putting the soaps on ITVX early they were planning to the pull them from mainstream TV so there was more time on the schedule!!”
Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale in 2024? Cast exits, arrivals and returns
Emmerdale usually airs on weekdays at 7.30pm, with an hour long episode on Thursdays.
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