Editing EastEnders (section)

=== Broadcast ===
Since 1985, ''EastEnders'' has remained at the centre of [[BBC One]]'s primetime schedule. From 2001 to 2022, it was broadcast at 7:30{{nbsp}}pm on Tuesday and Thursday, and 8{{nbsp}}pm on Monday and Friday. ''EastEnders'' was originally broadcast twice weekly at 7:00{{nbsp}}pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 19 February 1985; however, in September 1985 the two episodes were moved to 7:30{{nbsp}}pm as [[Michael Grade]] did not want the soap running in direct competition with ''[[Emmerdale Farm]]'', and this remained the same until 7 April 1994. The BBC had originally planned to take advantage of the "summer break" that ''Emmerdale Farm'' usually took to capitalise on ratings, but [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] added extra episodes and repeats so that ''Emmerdale Farm'' was not taken off the air over the summer. Realising the futility of the situation, Grade decided to move the show to the later 7:30{{nbsp}}pm slot.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Newcomb |first1=Horace |title=Encyclopedia of television |date=2005 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |isbn=978-1-57958-394-1 |page=780 |oclc=155865398 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|newspaper= [[The Times]]|title= EastEnders loses the ratings battle|date= 15 August 1985|page= 3|issue= 62217|url= http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=herlib&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS52007183&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|via= [[Gale (publisher)|Gale]]|first= David|last= Hewson|access-date= 16 December 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181222121847/http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do|archive-date= 22 December 2018|url-status= dead}}</ref>

The show's output then increased to three times a week on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 April 1994 until 2 August 2001.<ref name="edures">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/haveyoursay/howcani/howcani_content/howcani_0011.shtml |title= Educational resource (part one) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403175032/http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/haveyoursay/howcani/howcani_content/howcani_0011.shtml |archive-date=3 April 2007|publisher=BBC}}</ref>
From 10 August 2001, ''EastEnders'' then added its fourth episode (shown on Fridays).<ref name="edures" /> This caused some controversy, as the first Friday episode clashed with ''Coronation Street'', which was moved to 8{{nbsp}}pm to make way for an hour-long episode of rural soap ''Emmerdale''. In this first head-to-head battle, ''EastEnders'' claimed victory over its rival.<ref>{{Cite news
|url = https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/aug/13/broadcasting|title = EastEnders wins soap battle|work=[[The Guardian]] |date = 13 August 2001|access-date =16 July 2006| location=London| first=Jason| last=Deans}}</ref>

In early 2003, viewers could watch episodes of ''EastEnders'' on digital channel [[BBC Three]] before they were broadcast on BBC One. This was to coincide with the relaunch of the channel and helped BBC Three break the one million viewers mark for the first time with 1.03&nbsp;million who watched to see [[Mark Fowler]]'s departure.<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/feb/14/bbc.overnights|title = BBC3 breaks down the barriers|work=[[The Guardian]] |date = 14 February 2003|access-date =16 July 2006| location=London| first=Jason| last=Deans}}</ref> According to the ''EastEnders'' website, there are, on average, 208 episodes outputted each year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Educational Resource (Part Two)|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/haveyoursay/howcani/howcani_content/howcani_0010.shtml|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=15 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060304032805/http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/haveyoursay/howcani/howcani_content/howcani_0010.shtml |archive-date=4 March 2006}}</ref>

On 21 February 2022, it was announced that from 7 March 2022, ''EastEnders'' would begin airing from Monday to Thursday at 7:30{{nbsp}}pm, therefore no longer airing on a Friday. This meant that ''EastEnders'' would clash with ''Emmerdale'', but the producers stated that due to the importance of online streaming figures, they were not concerned about the soaps clashing on the live television guides.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why is EastEnders changing its time slot on BBC? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/eastenders-bbc-change-schedule-b2020202.html |access-date=22 February 2022 |work=[[The Independent]] |date=22 February 2022}}</ref>