Emmerdale new production team headed by executive producer Keith Richardson was brought in and the show's focus moved to the nearby village of Beckindale, with more dramatic storylines such as Pat Sugden's 1986 car crash and the 1988 Crossgill fire. By 1988, the show had been moved to an evening time slot in all ITV regions. "Emmerdale Farm" also began broadcasting episodes year-round that year. Reflecting its change in focus, the title was changed to "Emmerdale" on 14 November 1989. Coinciding with the title change was the introduction of the wealthy Tate family, bringing with them racier storylines. Under Richardson, the
Scheduling of Emmerdale was broadcast at the same time as the BBC's soap "EastEnders"; this was unusual, as the main terrestrial channels in the UK usually schedule their soap operas to avoid clashes like this. On 8 July 2009, ITV announced that they were to revamp their schedule yet again. This time, "Emmerdale"'s Tuesday hour-long episode was reduced back down to 30 minutes, and replaced with a second Thursday episode. "Emmerdale" and "EastEnders" ratings have improved thanks to this, with "Emmerdale" getting 7.7 million, its highest in over 6 months, on 1 October 2009. Old episodes of "Emmerdale Farm" were repeated in the