Emmerdale has become the first major production to adopt the Digital Production Partnership’s (DPP) new standards for the file-based delivery of programmes.

ITV Studios is delivering HD episodes of the long-running soap in the AVC Intra 100 AS-11 format, the UK’s first common file structure and wrapper.

Emmerdale head of production Matt Cleary said: “We now have AVC Intra 100 throughout our entire end-to-end workflow, which makes us more efficient, speeds up delivery and improves technical quality.”

The DPP is a cross-broadcaster initiative led by the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.

In January, the broadcasters - together with Sky, Channel 5, S4C and UKTV - agreed the UK’s first common file format, structure and wrapper to enable TV programme delivery by digital file.

BBC and Channel 4 are also beginning to take delivery of programmes on file on a selective basis.