ITV’s decision to shake up its soap schedule will come as a complete surprise to viewers.
From next January there will be five half-hour episodes each week of its two big soaps.
Emmerdale will be shown each weeknight at 8pm followed immediately by Coronation Street at 8.30pm.
Both shows will continue to drop early on ITV X.
The decision is surprising for two reasons.
Firstly, of course, it goes against the direction of travel over the past three decades. Both ITV and the BBC gradually increased the number of episodes of their main soaps.
Secondly the soaps are ITV 1’s biggest regular performers.
Corrie and Emmerdale often come top of the channel’s weekly ratings – beating 9pm dramas, the early evening news programmes and weekend entertainment.
They are critical to the channel’s success, unlike EastEnders on BBC One.
So why is ITV1 doing this?
It seems to be viewer-led. The channel says half-hour episodes have performed better.
Have TV bosses finally realised that overdoing the soaps has always risked breaching the law of diminishing returns? If so, this is a way to future-proof ITV 1’s two biggest assets.
But it is also true that costs in TV drama have been shooting up fast.
This was the main reason why BBC Scotland cut the number of episodes of its local soap River City.
The BBC, of course, has also axed Doctors and Holby City and cut the number of episodes of Casualty. Channel 4 has reduced the volume of Hollyoaks and no longer shows it on its main channel.
It’s hard not to conclude we are past “peak soap”. Personally, I’d have imagined the BBC reducing the volume of EastEnders before ITV 1 touched Emmerdale or Corrie.
So what will this mean for the ITV 1 schedule overall?
It frees up an hour of peak time each week for other shows.
There is no suggestion at the moment of any other strategic changes, such as moving the news.
It is reasonable to imagine that Tonight will move to 7.30pm. I would also assume that will be the slot for a reformatted Martin Lewis Money Show.
But this still leaves other slots to find new uses for. Hopefully it’ll lead to a wider choice of evening viewing.
Interestingly the schedule changes have an implication for BBC One.
It means EastEnders will no longer face direct competition from Emmerdale. Will this boost the show’s overnights?
Or will it continue as the country’s “third” soap in ratings terms?
This is the most strategically interesting and important change to ITV 1’s schedule in a quarter of a century.
It is still a year away but its implications will be significant.
Hopefully it will mean the soaps have more impact – classic “less is more” – and mean more choice for those who don’t follow them.
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PICTURED: Coronation Street and Emmerdale logos. COPYRIGHT: ITV plc.