EMMERDALE stars and crew fear for the soap’s future following Sky’s takeover of ITV.
It comes amid concerns that Sky’s group executive Dana Strong may not want to keep Coronation Street and Emmerdale and instead favour buying ready-made shows over home-grown expensive productions.
Emmerdale stars and crew fear for the soap’s future following Sky’s takeover of ITV Credit: Rex
ITV’s current CEO Dame Carolyn McCall will remain at the helm, though she has insisted it is a large enough entity in its own right to succeed Credit: Sky
A telly source said: “Why would they pay huge amounts for two soaps that pretty much do the same thing? “Coronation Street is the world’s longest running soap and it’s an institution, so it will never go anywhere.
“It is also shown in various countries worldwide. But for those working on Emmerdale there are real fears that the show hasn’t got a long term future anymore.”
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Emmerdale was first broadcast in October 1972, nearly 12 years after Coronation Street.
Another source said: “There is a lot of talk across both soaps about the future of Emmerdale now that the Sky takeover has happened. They will be looking at budgets and Emmerdale is incredibly vulnerable.”
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Earlier this month Sky agreed to buy cash strapped ITV’s broadcast and streaming business for £1.6billion – and warned that jobs could be cut.
ITV Studios is not part of the deal and will remain as a separate standalone business – and it has not yet been confirmed whether ITV’s current CEO Dame Carolyn McCall will remain at the helm, though she has insisted it is a large enough entity in its own right to succeed.
However it will now be forced to survive on its own merits as a production company without the support of ITV’s wider network and advertising revenues – meaning many of its existing shows including soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale will be forced to become profitable in their own right in order to secure their future.
Head honcho Dana Strong, an American businesswoman who has run the UK business since 2021, will take overall control of the newly merged broadcasting powerhouse which hopes to form a major rival to take on streaming giants Netflix, YouTube and the BBC to become Britain’s biggest viewing platform overall.
Discussing her favourite TV shows previously she said: “Ted Lasso just makes me happy and Killing Eve would have been a great one for our platforms.”
Another source added: “If the numbers don’t add up they could even be considered for the axe entirely once their existing production deals expire.”
