Telecinco will put First Dates in its Friday early prime-time slot starting September 18, leaving De Viernes with a later start and likely a shorter runtime.
Until now, First Dates, hosted by Carlos Sobera, aired Monday through Wednesday, while De Viernes, with Santi Acosta and Beatriz Archidona, held the Friday evening spot. Under the new schedule, First Dates takes over the Friday access slot, and De Viernes is set to start around 23:00. Unless the show runs late into the night, it will lose about an hour of airtime.
El Mundo reports that the new Friday schedule places First Dates at approximately 21:50, followed by De Viernes at around 23:00. That brings Telecinco’s evening schedule in line with most weekdays.
Mediaset is backing First Dates, which has maintained strong ratings for years. By matching Friday’s schedule to the rest of the week, with an access show before the basic event, Telecinco is betting on consistency and audience habits. Thursdays remain the exception, still reserved for Supervivientes.
The changes extend beyond Telecinco. Mediaset is making a similar move on Cuatro, where Horizonte, hosted by Beatriz Talegón and Paco Pérez Caballero, will start even earlier on Fridays, at 21:10. The goal is to focus on established shows and make viewing more predictable across channels.
For De Viernes, the impact is immediate. A later start means less time for interviews and exclusives, with less room to build momentum. The team will have to adjust quickly to stay relevant in a shorter window. Meanwhile, First Dates strengthens its position as Mediaset’s most reliable access prime-time show, a rare achievement in a market where formats often fade quickly.
Horizonte recently outperformed First Dates in audience share, reaching 961,000 viewers and an 8.6% share, compared with First Dates’ 734,000 viewers and a 6.5% share on September 9, as reported by PR Noticias and FormulaTV.
Mediaset’s willingness to shake up its own schedule is a calculated move: the company aims to improve audience flow by backing proven shows, a lower-risk approach. It is reshaping prime time, even if established shows have to give way.
