Coronation Street and Emmerdale Face Two-Night ITV Schedule Disruption as Football and Rugby Take Over

Coronation Street and Emmerdale face disruption to their usual ITV1 schedules on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 November 2026, with live international football and rugby matches listed for broadcast across both evenings.

The sporting fixtures are scheduled to clash with the soaps' regular 8pm and 8.30pm slots, potentially leaving viewers without either programme for two consecutive nights. Although both matches are currently listed for ITV1, the broadcaster has yet to confirm the full impact on its soap schedule or whether affected episodes will be moved to alternative dates.

England Face Croatia at Wembley on Thursday

On Thursday 12 November, England host Croatia at Wembley Stadium in London, with kick-off scheduled for 7.45pm GMT in their UEFA Nations League Group A3 encounter.

The match will be shown live on ITV1 and STV, with streaming available through ITVX and STV Player, as England continue their Nations League campaign against familiar European opposition.

The fixture forms part of the November international window, with England also scheduled to travel to Spain on Sunday 15 November. The Croatia match is particularly significant following the two countries' previous meetings in major international competitions, including their memorable 2018 World Cup semi-final.

With the football kicking off just 15 minutes before Emmerdale would normally begin, coverage is expected to occupy the usual slots for both soaps, although ITV has not yet confirmed the arrangements for either programme.

France Take on South Africa in Friday Night Rugby

The following evening, Friday 13 November, ITV1 is listed to broadcast France against South Africa in the Rugby Nations Championship, with kick-off scheduled for 8.10pm GMT, or 9.10pm local time, at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris.

The international fixture is part of the fifth round of the new Nations Championship, bringing together two of international rugby's leading sides in another major encounter.

South Africa arrive as reigning world champions, having defeated France 29-28 in a dramatic World Cup quarter-final in October 2023. The Springboks also won their most recent meeting in November 2025, beating France 32-17 at the Stade de France, giving the hosts an opportunity to reverse that result in front of their home crowd.

With the match scheduled to begin shortly after Emmerdale normally starts, the live rugby coverage is expected to overlap with both Emmerdale and Coronation Street, potentially creating a second consecutive evening without the soaps in their regular ITV1 slots.

When Will Coronation Street and Emmerdale Return?

ITV introduced a revised weekday soap schedule in January 2026, placing Emmerdale at 8pm and Coronation Street at 8.30pm from Monday to Friday, with each programme airing in a 30-minute slot.

The two sporting fixtures therefore create potential disruption to four scheduled soap episodes across Thursday and Friday, although ITV has not confirmed whether the programmes will be moved to different evenings, an early Sunday slot, or to be rescheduled elsewhere or made available through ITVX.

Viewers are advised to keep an eye on ITV's official channels, ITVX and updated television listings closer to 12 and 13 November for confirmed scheduling arrangements and full details of when the affected episodes will be shown.

SoapLandTV will also provide further updates once ITV confirms any alterations to the regular Coronation Street and Emmerdale schedules.