Revived soap Crossroads has been cut back to four episodes a week, it was announced today.
The last Friday edition will air on September 7, after which the soap will run from Monday through Thursday only, at the later times of 14.05 and 17.30.
The move is the first sign that ITV1 is concerned about ratings for the show, which pull an average of just 3.5m a day.
"Establishing a soap is a long-term game. We're very happy with the way Crossroads is performing," said a spokeswoman for the network. "The decision was about strengthening the afternoon schedule, not about Crossroads."
A new gameshow, The Biggest Game in Town will air weekday afternoons at 13.35, which bosses hope will provide strong inheritance for the early edition of the soap.
On Fridays at 14.05, regional programming will air for an hour.
"We wanted to create a consistent afternoon schedule," the spokeswoman continued. "Maureen Duffy wanted to create a consistent run of regional programming."
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