Emmerdale To Loose 6th Night

[Lane Kent]

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

Sunday 13th Jan - NO EPISODE
Monday 14th Jan - 7pm 30 minute episodes as usual
Tuesday 15th Jan - 7pm as usual PLUS 7:3pm-8pm
Wednesday 16 Jan - 7pm 30 minute episodes as usual
Thursday 17th Jan - 7pm 30 minute as usual
Friday 18th Jan - 7pm 30 minute as usual

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]

Having a 1 hour every Tuesdays really is overkill. They really should have used this opportunity to drop the 6th episode.

I can only assume perhaps they have to show the 6th episode for the immediate future if production has carried on at 6 per week. Hopefully they will drop the 1 hour ep at some point.

[Deleted]

Yes, this announcement is a real let-down when you go into detail. They're just cramming the same amount of airtime into less days - would have been a great opportunity to lose at least one episode per week (or even two if they'd been brave enough).

What a cop-out.

[sallywebster]

Im still hoping they will drop the 1 hour down to half an hour once they have shown the backlog of episodes already recorded. Im sure the production team would prefer to be making 5 episodes rather than 6!

[Lane Kent]

sallywebster said:

Im still hoping they will drop the 1 hour down to half an hour once they have shown the backlog of episodes already recorded. Im sure the production team would prefer to be making 5 episodes rather than 6!

This is what I wonder too. Also not just the backlog but also contracts and committments to actors/ads/crew too. It is not as simple as that overnight as saying to Emmerdale right we want you to drop an episode. 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. I'm hoping in the meantime the Beeb moves EE to 7pm Tuesdays as that would really make things interesting. People are already bored of Tuesday one hours and I'm bored of Emmerdale full stop I'm afraid.

[sallywebster]

I see the week after next they are moving the hour long episode to Thursdays due to Football on the Tuesday. Its pathetic really.

[RitaLittlewood]

Well the year is nearly at an end and we still have no sense from ITV regarding cutting eps. Arses!

Patsy

[sallywebster]

I know. A whole year of hour long episodes! They did start to drop them on Tuesdays for a while when there was football on but in the autumn they reverted back to moving them to Thursdays when football on a Tuesday. Perhaps now The Krypton Factor is being shown on Thursdays they will drop the hour episode when Football on Tuesdays? They would be totally stupid if they cancelled TKF for a 1 hour Emmerdale every few weeks!