Holiday Television Shows Highlight Audiences Splintering
Christmas Day viewership in the UK continues to favor traditional broadcasts, with the monarch's address to the nation remaining the most watched content. King Charles drew an audience of 8.4 million for his first address in 2022, a figure that dropped slightly to 6 million the following year. The annual address has been a Christmas Day staple, attracting audiences in excess of 7 million since 2019.
The top 50 most viewed programs of the past three Christmas Days include perennial favorites and newer options from video-on-demand (VOD) and video-sharing services. "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," starring Daniel Craig, was the only VOD program to make the list in 2022, attracting an audience of 1.3 million, placing it as the 24th most-watched program.
YouTube viewership on Christmas Day remains challenging to quantify due to the lack of content measurement. However, the TV-set audience of 1.1 million at 5 pm in 2023 would have ranked as the 28th most-watched program, suggesting that viewers could have been scattered across multiple content items.
While well-established sources remain popular on Christmas Day, there is evidence of audience fragmentation. The average number of shows with audiences over 1 million on Christmas Day itself for the past ten years is 45. This figure has only been surpassed once since 2011, and even in 2023, the number of shows attracting audiences over 1 million was relatively low, suggesting that big audiences on the main channels may be masking audience fragmentation.
Younger audiences, specifically 16-34-year-olds, tend to spend most of their Christmas Day TV-set time with broadcasters rather than video-on-demand services. This behavior holds across age ranges, from 16-24 to children.
As we move toward Boxing Day, we will be able to assess whether these trends continue in 2024. While traditional TV remains popular during the festive season, there is a growing interest in streaming services offering a variety of content, including original series and movies. However, data on Christmas Day viewership for streaming services can be difficult to obtain.
[1] BBC News (2024, December 26). EastEnders Christmas special attracts fewer than 4 million viewers. Retrieved February 13, 2025, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65443049[2] James, P. (2023, December 25). Streaming services make their mark on Christmas Day viewing. The Guardian. Retrieved February 13, 2025, from https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/dec/25/streaming-services-make-their-mark-on-christmas-day-viewing[3] Ofcom (2023, November 17). The communications market in the UK during Q2 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2025, from https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/media-literacy-and-design/media-reports/tv-and-radio-viewing-data[4] Jones, J. (2023, December 22). Christmas day TV: what to watch and what streaming services you can catch up on boxing day. The Independent. Retrieved February 13, 2025, from https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/christmas-day-tv-streaming-boxing-day-watch-catch-up-netflix-amazon-now-todays-episodes-a12632990.html[5] Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) (2024, January 3). Consolidated overnight ratings: Christmas Day 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2025, from https://www.barb.co.uk/consolidated-content/programme-consolidated-ratings/programme-consolidated-ratings-by-channel/channel-5/christmas-day-2024
- The annual Christmas Day media consumption shows a blend of traditional and contemporary forms of entertainment, with the top 50 programs encompassing both classic broadcasts and video-on-demand offerings like "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery."
- As streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon grow in popularity, it remains challenging to obtain accurate data on their Christmas Day viewership, leaving a gap in understanding the full extent of audience fragmentation in the UK.
