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Viewing Figures are the number of viewers or households watching a television programme at any given time. Such figures are vital to commercial organisations such as ITV as they are the basis on which they charge other companies for advertisement slots although they are just as important to the BBC in that high audience figures remain an important political argument for the justification and continuation of the licence fee system.
Background[]
Today all UK audience figures are based on readings from meters fixed to a sample set of televisions across the country and the information they collate being published to show a television chart ranking. This process is overseen by BARB (Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board) who were set up jointly by the BBC and the then ITV group of companies and began operating on 1st August 1981. Before this, the BBC conducted its audience research while the separate ITV companies sub-contracted out the task to other organisations, in the main TAM (Total Audience Measurement) and AC Neilson. With the change to the ITV network in 1968, when stations such as Associated Rediffusion were dropped and new stations such as Thames Television and London Weekend Television began, the independent stations and other interested parties (acting under the name of JICTAR, the Joint Industry Committee for Television Advertising Research, formed in the early 1960s) passed the contract for collating the data passed to AGB, today AGB Neilson, who still to this day collate the data for the entire UK industry on BARB's behalf.
It should be noted that before the establishment of BARB, not only did BBC and ITV collect audience data separately but they collected and collated it using different methods. The BBC did not use meter readings but instead used audience questionnaires based on the memory of the sample they chose. They then published their data as millions of viewers. TAM/AGB used meter readings and published the data as millions of homes viewing. This latter measurement method changed on 1st August 1977 and the generally accepted conversion ratio is 2.2 viewers to one home (BFI). Therefore the first episode of Emmerdale was watched by 2,203,000 households which equates to 4,846,600 people.
As of the week of 27th August 2018, BARB introduced "four-screen viewing" which gave combined figures for TV, pc/laptop, tablet and smartphone. This change, made to reflect modern technologies, resulted in overall figures that were not as "rounded up" as in the past but in the case of the latter three methods of viewing, were far more precise.
Emmerdale's history in the charts[]
An average Emmerdale episode generally attracts an average of 4.1 million viewers.
When then called Emmerdale Farm began it started off as just a regional programme. The first episode was watched by 2.2 million but by early 1973 other regions like Anglia and London were screening the show. Viewing figures by then were around 3 to 4 million. By 1977 the viewing figures had risen to around 10 million and the show was proving to be quite popular. In March 1978 Emmerdale Farm appeared for the first time in the Top 15 ITV rating programmes at 14th place with over 15 million viewers, its highest figures ever at the time. In 1979 Emmerdale Farm appeared regularly in the Top 15 most-watched ITV episodes ranging from 11.1 million to 14.7 million. On 22nd May 1979, Emmerdale Farm reached 8th place in the rating with 12.4 million viewers.
During the 1990s, the series had an average of 10-11 million viewers per episode. Some notable episodes and storylines have seen the viewing figures soar since then has been:
- On 30th December 1993, Emmerdale had its largest-ever audience of 18 million when a plane crashed into the village.
- On 27th May 1997, 13 million viewers saw Frank Tate die of a heart attack after the return of wife Kim.
- On 20th October 1998, 12.5 million viewers saw The Woolpack explode after a fire.
- On 19th January 1999, Kim Tate's departure from the show on was watched by nearly 15 million viewers.
- On 1st January 2004, the village storm attracted 11.19 million viewers.
- On 18th May 2004, Emmerdale attracted 8.27 million viewers for an episode which saw Jack Sugden being shot by his adopted son, Andy
- On 1st March 2005, Emmerdale attracted 10.08 million viewers when Charity Tate left the village after ruining Jimmy King's 40th birthday by playing a tape which confirms their affair and revealing his wife Sadie's lies to she stop Charity's wedding to Tom King.
- On 17th March 2005, 9.39 million watched Shelly Williams fall from the Isle of Arran ferry. Zoe Tate left the show after 16 years on 22nd September 2005 before 8.58 million viewers, marking her departure by blowing up Home Farm.
- On 13th July 2006, the Kings River house collapse was seen by 6.90 million viewers.
- On 21st September 2006, Sadie King and Cain Dingle left before an audience of 8.57 million viewers.
- On Christmas Day 2006, 7.69 million saw Tom King murdered on his wedding day.
- On 1st February 2007, Billy Hopwood crashed his truck into a lake, attracting 8.15 million viewers.
- On 17th May 2007, the end of the "Who Killed Tom King?" storyline, had an audience of 8.92 million.
- On 14th January 2010, 9.96 million saw Mark Wylde shot dead by wife Natasha Wylde. Natasha's 27th October confession to daughter Masie attracted an audience of nearly 8 million.
- On 13th January 2011, 9.15 million saw a fire kill Viv Hope and Terry Woods.
- On 17th October 2012, the live 40th-anniversary episode on drew an audience of 8.83 million.
- On 16th October 2013, 8.15 million watched Cameron Murray begin his hostage siege at The Woolpack and shoot Alicia Metcalfe. The next day, 7.65 million viewers saw Cameron die.
- On 8th October 2018, the much-awaited return of Kim Tate's attracted 6.8 million viewers.
Christmas[]
Christmas ratings[]
- 1998: 11,100,000 viewers
- 1999: 11,670,000 viewers
- 2000: 8,760,000 viewers (Part I) & 9,900,000 viewers (Part II)
- 2001: 9,440,000 viewers
- 2002: 10,930,000 viewers
- 2003: 8,740,000 viewers
- 2004: 7,765,000 viewers
- 2005: 6,240,000 viewers
- 2006: 7,690,000 viewers
- 2007: 6,190,000 viewers
- 2008: 5,060,000 viewers
- 2009: 5,620,000 viewers
- 2010: 7,780,000 viewers
- 2011: 6,730,000 viewers
- 2012: 5,070,000 viewers (Part I) & 6,330,000 viewers (Part II)
- 2013: 5,970,000 viewers
- 2014: 5,640,000 viewers
- 2015: 4,210,000 viewers
- 2016: 5,670,000 viewers
- 2017: 5,120,000 viewers
- 2018: 5,533,120 viewers
- 2019: 5,745,106 viewers
- 2020: 4,914,790 viewers
- 2021: 4,809,000 viewers
- 2022: 3,898,000 viewers
- 2023: 3,310,000 viewers
Text Santa[]
Annual rankings[]
Episodes as "Millions of Viewers"[]
- It should be noted that viewing figures for episodes from 15th December 2008 to 24th August 2018 do not include data from those who watched on tablets, PCs and smartphones, viewing figures for episodes from 2nd April 2010 to 20th May 2016 do not include data from those who watched on ITV HD and viewing figures for episodes from 11th January 2011 to 20th May 2016 do not include data from those who watched on ITV+1.
Most and Least-Watched Episodes[]
Most-Watched Episodes[]
From Episode 2382 (30th June 1998) onwards, the 10 most-watched episodes of Emmerdale are:
| Rank | Episode | Viewing Figures |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Episode 2473 (19th January 1999) | 14,970,000* |
| 2 | Episode 2470 (12th January 1999) | 13,920,000* |
| 3 | Episode 2432 (20th October 1998) | 13,910,000* |
| 4 | Episode 2464 (29th December 1998) | 13,480,000* |
| 5 | Episode 2474 (20th January 1999) | 13,350,000 |
| 6 | Episode 2669 (22nd March 2000) | 13,250,000 |
| 7 | Episode 2447 (24th November 1998) | 13,240,000* |
| 8 | Episode 2639 (19th January 2000) | 13,210,000 |
| 9 | Episode 2438 (3rd November 1998) | 13,200,000* |
| 10 | Episode 2655 (22nd February 2000) | 13,190,000* |
Least-Watched Episodes[]
From Episode 2382 (30th June 1998) onwards, the 10 least-watched episodes of Emmerdale are:
| Rank | Episode | Viewing Figures |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Episode 9469 (18th September 2022) | <2,972,000 |
| 2 | Episode 10032 (8th July 2024) | 3,170,000 |
| 3 | Episode 9461/9462 (11th September 2022) | 3,195,000 |
| 4 | Episode 9870 (25th December 2023) | 3,310,000 |
| 5 | Episode 9463 (13th September 2022) | 3,336,000 |
| 6 | Episode 9790 (22nd September 2023) | 3,356,000 |
| 7 | Episode 9796 (29th September 2023) | 3,372,000 |
| 8 | Episode 4402 (5th July 2006) | 3,380,000 |
| 9 | Episode 10172 (25th December 2024) | 3,467,000 |
| 10 | Episode 10037 (12th July 2024) | 3,482,000 |
[]
- 16th October 2002 (8.30pm) 30 Years of Emmerdale - 5,490,000 viewers (23rd place)
- 16th December 2011 (9.00pm) Corrie v Emmerdale: The Big Quiz - 5,300,000 (14th place)
- Emmerdale at 40
- 11th October 2012 (8.30pm) The Headline Makers - 3,150,000 viewers (25th place)
- 18th October 2012 (8.30pm) The Affairs - 3,750,000 viewers (19th place)
- 25th October 2012 (8.30pm) The Crimes - 3,020,000 viewers (29th place)
- 1st November 2012 (8.30pm) The Weddings - 3,530,000 viewers (25th place)
- 8th November 2012 (8.30pm) The Woolpack - 3,250,000 viewers (25th place)