TV Today has thus far taken a realistic approach to the issue of the supposed ratings battle between EastEnders and Emmerdale, but today’s overnight ratings analysis from Media Guardian has left us with a slightly furrowed brow at this exercise in making a story where there really isn’t one…
Under the headline:
EMMERDALE CLEANS UP IN SOAP WAR
the analysis reports that last night, which saw another periodic head to head clash between the Beeb’s premier soap and the everyday doings of country folk, that Emmerdale outperformed EastEnders by a whopping… wait for it…
0.2 million
Erm… is that it? Hardly a figure to justify the jauntily sabre rattling headline. War? I’d call that more of a light row. For fact fans, the figures line up as follows:
Emmerdale 6.0 million (31% share)
EastEnders 5.8 million (30% share)
Now, if EastEnders had sunk to an all time low again, fair enough, but it hasn’t, and you could hardly call a gap of 0.2 million a drubbing by any stretch of the imagination. I’m also confused by the need to include the line:
The BBC1 soap hit a new ratings low in July, with just 3.9 million viewers, against an hour-long Emmerdale special.
Erm… so what? It’s too easy to give a hard time EastEnders, although TV Today sympathises. using the headline:
EASTENDERS AND EMMERDALE JUST ABOUT NECK AND NECK IN REALLY DULL RATINGS BATTLE
just doesn’t have the same ring.
