ITV Choice returns to Singapore in July after an absence of 18 months, with a schedule that has fast-tracked two iconic U.K. soaps – Coronation Street and Emmerdale – and shorter windows on other drama from ITV’s slate in the U.K.

The new incarnation also highlights the channel’s direct content pipeline to the U.K. ITV channel director, Nic van Zwanenberg, says ITV owns the majority of rights to its content, and will pass these on to carriage partners for TV everywhere services along with catch up and video on demand.

Van Zwanenberg says the priority for this year is to minimise broadcasting windows in Asia. This has already been done with

Coronation Street and Emmerdale, both of which now air in Asia within 24 hours of the U.K.

Van Zwanenberg adds that the short window allows viewers in Asia to “get involved with the social and digital conversations taking place around each episode and storyline”.

The aim is to offer other titles on the Asia schedule within a week of the U.K. where possible. “Over 95% of our first run drama and entertainment programming will air less than six months after U.K. premiere,” Van Zwanenberg says.

The greatest programming challenge so far has been airing the U.K.’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here on the Asia feed within 48 hours of the U.K. The show, filmed in Australia, is sent to Hong Kong for compliance viewing, back to Australia for editing, then to the U.K., and then back to Asia to air – for 21 consecutive days.

About 51% (20 hours) of the channel’s prime-time 6.30pm-12am slots for the week of 15-21 June are drama series, including Emmerdale season 44, which is stripped at 6.25pm Mondays to Fridays, with two episodes back to back on Fridays, and Coronation Street season 56, stripped at 7.15pm Mondays to Fridays.

The week’s 9.30pm weekday slots, generally reserved for key premiering content, schedules back-to-back episodes seven and eight of The Doctor Blake Mysteries season three (every Monday); Home Fires (Tuesday, airing within 48 hours of the U.K.), a drama series set in a Cheshire village during World War II; crime drama Chasing Shadows (Wednesday), detective series Murdoch Mysteries season eight (Thursdays, two episodes back to back); and cooking game show Who’s Doing The Dishes? (Fridays).

ITV Choice also schedules 18% (seven hours) of its prime time slots with season eight of The Chase, where four contestants pit their wits against quiz genius on general knowledge questions. The show is stripped at 8.35pm on Mondays to Fridays.

During the week of 18-24 May, drama series and game shows also dominated ITV Choice’s prime-time schedule, with drama occupying 32%/13 hours and game shows 28%/11 hours from 6.30pm-midnight.

Prime-time drama in May included season two of The Doctor Blake Mysteries and earlier episodes of Home Fires and Murdoch Mysteries. Other titles in May and June include talk shows (The Jonathan Ross Talk Show season five/eight), talent/food competitions (Cook Me The Money and Big Star’s Little Star), sitcom (Raised By Wolves), travelogue (Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green), magic (Tricked season one) and factual (Paul O’Grady: For The Love of Dogs season three).