Below is a list of the major changes to Emmerdale's broadcast patterns and technical standards since 1972. Minor or short-term changes to the schedules are not listed.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Number of episodes per week | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972–1988 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1988–1990 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1990–1997 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1997–2000 | 3 | ||||||||
| 2000–2004 | 5 | ||||||||
| 2004–2008 | 6 | ||||||||
| 2008–2009 | 5 (including an hour long episode on Tuesdays with two episode numbers) | ||||||||
| 2009–Present | 6 | ||||||||