From what i remember about the ratings of the two soaps.
Both series average about 12million high season, and drop to around 10million and below in summer. This is way down on the 16+million they commander 5-10 years back.
From what i remember, Coronation Street, has nearly always beats EastEnders, if you compare the ratings for a single episode, excluding big events (x-mas/shootings/mass murders). However, EastEnders has spent alot of the time at the top of the ratings due to the omnibus ratings. Cory St on the other hand did not have the Omnibus ratings included, as their Omnibus has only just been Networked.
I remember a couple of years ago, when Coronation Street was going through its really bad patch. The Actress that plays Sally (who is also named Sally i think), when on a talk show mentioned that though EastEnders ratings were 2million more, it you took out the omnibus, Coronation Street was still ahead by nearly a million.
Now you can get ratings on a per episode base more easily, like on Media Guardian, it seems the same situation. Coronation Street beats Eastenders (both excluding omnibus), buy 1-1.5 million viewers (if you compare the top rated episode of Cory to the top rated episode of Eastenders).
But, you have to remember that it is easier to get a viewer to stay with a channel after a programme, than it is to get people to Switch over the channel.
In this case Coronation Street only gets about 2-3 million to turn over to it, on top of its lead in Emmerdale.
Eastenders, because of its bad rated lead ins, actually gets 7million plus to turn over to it, on top of its lead in. SO it could be argued that EastEnders is far more popular than Cory St, as more people actually turn over to see it.
