TV always takes centre stage on Christmas Day and 2014 was no different with millions of people tuning in. Whether you caught the Coronation Street Christmas special or one of the many family-friendly films on offer, Christmas Day 2014 was memorable for fantastic programming, supported by brilliant advertising.
Like last year, the BBC’s Mrs Brown’s Boys reigned supreme, taking the top spot for the most viewed programme on Christmas Day. ITV put in a fantastic performance with its big hitters Coronation Street, Downton Abbey and Emmerdale featuring prominently in a strong top 10. ITV and Channel 4’s wide range of films also caught people’s attention, with Arthur Christmas, Nanny McPhee and Back to the Future bringing millions of people to the channels.
But the big story this Christmas is the reflection of the changing way we are now watching TV in the UK. While Mrs Brown’s Boys topped the charts for the second successive year, these figures took into account “time shifted” viewing by those who recorded it and watched it back in the following seven days. Adding these figures to the live viewing reported on Boxing Day saw the bawdry comedy pick up an additional 2 million viewers.
Changing times and technologies mean audiences now watch when they want, rather than gathering around the TV as was traditional for so many years. With Sky and the BBC iPlayer’s 2014 festive figures due out shortly, we will have to wait and see what the final figures are for TV viewing. However one thing is undebatable – TV remains at the heart of the Christmas Day experience and it’s an amazing time to reach a captivated and connected audience.
The top 10 commercial TV programmes on Christmas Day 2014 were…
- Coronation Street
- Downton Abbey
- Emmerdale
- ITV Weather
- ITV News
- Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs Christmas Special
- ITV News at Ten
- The Queen’s Christmas Message
- Arthur Christmas
- The Queen’s Garden
