Corrie Returns To 3 Nights A Week

[Lane Kent]

After Sunday the 6 January. There will be no more Sunday episoodes of Coronation Street. From TV Weeks beginning Saturday 12th January. Coronation Street will only air Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Don't get too excited though as for at least the forseeable future, it remains 5 episodes a week. The weeks will look like this.

Sunday 13th Jan - NO EPISODE
Monday 14th Jan - 7:30pm & 8:30pm as usual
Wednesday 16 Jan - 7:30pm as usual
Friday 18th Jan - 7:30pm & NEW 8:30pm.

Each week will follow on the same.

ITV released the following Press statement today, 2nd January 2008

ITV unveils a new look schedule for 2008
2 January 2008


ITV today unveiled a new look schedule for its flagship channel, ITV1, with increased focus on week day peak time hours and a revitalised weekend line up.

The main revisions to the ITV1 Winter 2008 schedule include:

• The return of News at Ten
• More 60 minute dramas at 21.00
• More comedy, drama and entertainment Friday to Sunday
• Coronation Street and Emmerdale move from Sunday evenings
• Dancing On Ice moves to Sunday night
• More investment in acquired programming post 22.30

It has been confirmed today that News At Ten will return to ITV1 from Monday 14th January. As well as returning an iconic and much loved ITV brand to the heart of peak, this move allows ITV to invest further in original, hour long drama at 9pm. This month sees the launch of a number of new titles in this slot including The Palace, a contemporary drama set in a fictional Buckingham Palace; interlinked comedy and soap Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach, and Honest, a new six part comedy drama starring Amanda Redman.

As part of wider changes to a revamped weekend line up designed to be distinct from the week day schedule, there will be a later evening news bulletin Friday to Sunday to allow comedy, entertainment, drama and feature films to be played uninterrupted.

Weekends on ITV1 will be given a noticeably different look and feel with a renewed focus on new comedy, entertainment and drama. The reinvigorated Friday to Sunday schedule allows greater freedom and a broader programme mix, with hit entertainment shows like Dancing On Ice moving into Sunday night and remodelled Friday nights featuring more comedy and entertainment, starting with the new series of Al Murray’s Happy Hour at 10pm from Friday 11 January.

Saturday nights retain their place as the centrepiece of ITV’s weekend entertainment line up, with brand new prime time quiz show Duel launching this month. January also sees the return of family drama to Saturday evenings with the second series of Primeval and fresh new comedy as Paul Merton makes a welcome return to ITV1 in improvisation show Thank God You’re Here.

As entertainment moves into Sunday evenings from mid-January, Coronation Street moves from Sunday nights to a second episode at on 8.30pm on Fridays and Emmerdale also moves from Sunday night, meaning a reduction in the number of nights ITV soaps are broadcast without reducing the number of episodes. Drama still plays an important part in the Sunday night line up, however, with the return of last year’s highest rating new drama, Kingdom and a new series of Wild At Heart this month.

The move of the news also opens up a window for more factual programming, films and acquired programming on ITV1 at 10.30pm.

The new schedule will be supported by extensive off-air marketing activity, with campaigns created by ITV’s newly appointed agency BBH launching this week for Moving Wallpaper/Echo Beach, Honest and Primeval.

ITV Director of Television, Simon Shaps said: “One of the principal ideas behind these changes is to make the weekends on ITV1 feel special. We have always been the home of Saturday night entertainment and we want to broaden that out to make the whole weekend on ITV1 something to look forward to. This has meant a wholesale spring clean for Friday nights with new comedy, drama and feature films to get the weekend started, and a much fresher look to Sunday evenings with entertainment shaking up the historically drama-led schedule.

“The restructuring of the peak time schedule and the return of News at Ten means that we’ve got a great opportunity to recapture some lost ground at 9pm and we’ve responded to viewer feedback on Coronation Street and Emmerdale so that fans can catch up with their favourite soaps over fewer nights.

“The new shape allows greater freedom and flexibility to create new hits within the schedule. In all, these changes make for a more streamlined, user friendly schedule that plays to ITV1’s strengths as an entertainment powerhouse and the home of original drama.”

[sallywebster]

I heard the news earlier. I dont mind them dropping the Sunday Corrie and having the episode on Friday at all - pity they didnt just drop an episode or two alltogether though and have it as it used to be - Mon, Wed and Fri at 7.30pm only!

As long as they dont put Corrie on every weeknight, id have hated that. I like it more spread out.

[Nick]

That means Emmerdale will be losing an episode doesn't it??

It is a good idea though....You could never have any factory scenes on a sunday because it would be closed

[sallywebster]

No Emmerdale will still have 6 episodes, just 2 of them will be on Tuesdays as a 1 hour episode.

[CG Wendy]

I think the ITV bosses didn`t listen to us properly. When we said we`d like Corrie 3 times a week, we meant an episode Monday, Wednesday and Friday - not the same amount of episodes fer gawds sake.

[sootycat]

They obviously haven't heard the phrase 'Less is more' !!

[sallywebster]

We've been saying for years we want less episodes. They never listen and I doubt they ever will unless ratings take a serious turn for the worse.

They have got around the comments that people have made by saying now fans can watch their fave soaps on less nights as there is none on Sundays.

[Lane Kent]

Well I'm hoping, at the very least with Emmerdale, they will eventually drop an episode. At moment they have a backlog as well as contracts and committments to actors/ads/crew too to carry on with Emmerdale at 6 episodes and Corrie at 5 per week. It is not as simple as that overnight as saying to Corrie right we want you to drop an episode per week, these things take time. It will be interesting to see what the state of play is come September or January next year?

If they are really listening to fans then eventually, they will have to drop one. The lowest ratings of the week for the soaps are often Sundays and Fridays. (For example for week Ending 16th December, Sundays Emmerdale only got 5.98m, interestingly that particular week Corrie's Sunday episode did quite well with over 10 million. So shows the Em one is failing on Sundays, as it was winter too so no light nights to blame).

Coronation Street will never drop the double Mondays, they are too popular. I'm guessing in Corrie's case they are testing the 8:30pm Friday slot and will see how it goes, as they have ued that before and depending on how well it peforms well depend whether it stays there, moves back to Sunday or goes to Wednesday at 8:30pm

I think of the 2 (Corrie and Emmerdale), Corrie is the least likely to loose an episode. However Emmerdale hasn't been doing so well for a while now and more often than not is no longer ITV's 2nd most popular programme.

[RitaLittlewood]

No they aren't otherwise they would have reduced them. Michael Grade is an idiot.

Patsy

[Nick]

Trouble is..if they droped an episode what would they replace it with..??..I dread to think...whatever it will be,it will be the cheapest possible option

buying houses/decorating houses/finding antiques in your shed/selling your antiques/celebrity hairstylist/animals do the unfunnist things/early evening phone in quizzes..?..or a mixture of all of them..??

[sallywebster]

Good point Nick. I think half the reason they have so many episodes of the soaps is because they cant be arsed to come up with something else to replace them with. Even when I was younger we had much more variety than we do now with Quiz shows in the 7pm slot not just Emmerdale, and documentaries and current affairs shows like World in Action and The Cook Report.

[Nick]

aah the good old days when you had different programmes on everyday

[RitaLittlewood]

I doubt ITV will ever get back to that unless Michael Grade REALLY means business which would start with reducing the eps and getting some new ideas.

Patsy

[Nick]

i remember when the 7pm slot on ITV went thus...

Monday 7pm-The Krypton factor
Tuesday 7pm-Emmerdale Farm
Wednesday 7pm-Wheel of Fortune
Thursday 7pm-Emmerdale Farm
friday 7pm-Play your Cards right

[RitaLittlewood]

Ah those were the days when they didn't rely on soaps and other crap to prop up their desperate schedules.

Patsy

[sallywebster]

I loved The Krypton Factor too - looked forward to that on Mondays with Corrie afterwards (just 1 episode on Mondays in those days!)

Also loved the quiz shows Take Your Pick and Family Fortunes which used to be on Fridays nights at 7pm.

They definately need new ideas.