One of the most maddening things for Kiwi Coro St fans, over the years, has been the fact we’re so far behind with what’s airing in the UK.
For years, New Zealand has lagged behind the UK’s broadcast, with episodes airing 18 months after their original transmission in the UK.
However, TVNZ 1 has just announced that we will finally – finally – be catching up with Coro St in the UK.
From June 11 we will be able to watch Coronation Street IN SYNC with the UK, following a deal with ITV Studios Global Entertainment.
Renamed ‘Coronation Street 2018‘, TVNZ’s primetime episodes will air one week behind the UK on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evening at 9.30pm.
John Kelly, General Manager of Programming says, “Coronation Street has been a cornerstone of TVNZ 1’s schedule for decades. We’ve had a lot of feedback from viewers over the years, expressing their frustration with being so far behind the UK. We’re with them on this, which is why we’ve decided to take this huge step.”
Extensive consultation with Coro St viewers was conducted via the TVNZ Greenroom Panel to inform the decision. Over three quarters of the panel said that being so far behind the UK was “an issue” for them. Over 80 per cent said they were keen to skip ahead to the UK’s broadcast.
TVNZ 1 will mark the scheduling change with Coro St playing every evening for the week from June 11, before resuming its regular Wednesday through Friday time slot.
For viewers wanting to be brought up to date, a two-hour special produced by ITV Studios label, Shiver, will air on Sunday June 10, recapping key storylines across the 18-month lag. This special was created especially for TVNZ to ensure viewers who would like to jump ahead get to see all the key moments before the new episodes start.
Kelly adds that “while we know many fans are keen to make the move, we also wanted to give viewer’s a choice in how they watch their favourite show. With that in mind, we’ve created a second viewing stream in daytime for fans who want to stay with the storylines currently on air.”
The daytime programming option continuing with the 2016 episodes will be titled ‘Coronation Street Catch-up‘. This stream will play weekdays at 1pm on TVNZ 1. Both programming streams, Coronation Street 2018 and Coronation Street Catch-up, will be available on TVNZ OnDemand for viewers who like to watch online.
Good move, TVNZ 1!
The changes in a nutshell
Coronation Street 2018:
• Prime time on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for 1 hour.
• Episodes airing one week behind their UK broadcast
• OnDemand catch up available
Coronation Street catch up:
• Day time episodes Monday – Friday for 1 hour
• Episodes continue the currently airing storyline
• OnDemand catch up available
