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Top Of The Christmas Tree-V: EastEnders beats Corrie for best festive storyline
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Santa Pause – Don’t Miss-tletoe Your Favourite TV: Two thirds of us now record Christmas Day TV and viewing back as a family when the Christmas feast is over
Down And Sprout: Downton is the most anticipated show of the festive season
Monday 14th December 2015: As Brits looks forward to this year’s Christmas telly bonanza, subscription free satellite TV provider Freesat took a look at what its viewers are doing and watching over the holiday period.
Classic Christmas feel-good film It’s A Wonderful Life has topped the list of favourite films, beating modern day favourite Elf which scored nearly 1 in 10 (8%) of the vote. When asked which film they had watched the most over the Christmas period, over 60% admitted to having watched The Wizard of Oz over three times.
Yet despite all the time spent watching Christmas movies, over a quarter of us (26%) confess to having disagreements over what to watch on TV during the festive season. In fact by 2pm on Christmas Day nearly three-quarters of us (73%) have had a bust up already, with the most popular reason being not helping in the kitchen (50%). And while mother in laws may be the butt of the jokes, only 1 in 10 of us have fallen out with ours over Christmas, instead arguing with partners (35%) and children (23%).
Despite this, the happiest part of Christmas Day is watching TV for nearly a third of us (30%) with 4 out of 5 of us saying it is one of the few times over the year when they sit down and watch TV together as a family.
Soaps are the centre of the TV schedule throughout the year and Christmas is no exception.EastEnders tops Corrie for always having the most exciting seasonal storylines (33% of us think so), and the much-loved daytime soap Doctors beats Hollyoaks for Christmas excitement with 1 in 10 (11%) of us thinking it has the festive excitement factor (compared to just 5% for Hollyoaks).
The study also looked at how technology continues to invade every part of our life over the Christmas season; but it has no place at the Christmas table as a quarter of us (27%) say they have disagreements about mobiles or tablets being used at Christmas lunch.
In fact more than 1 in 6 of us (16%) ban second screens at home on Christmas Day in favour of a day focusing on family. Yet we’ve worked out a way to solve the invasion of second screens at our Christmas tables, with two-thirds (66%) of us deciding what to view in advance by recording and watching when the flurry of food is over.
Christmas is traditionally a competitive battleground for our TV eyeballs and this year is no exception. The most anticipated show of Christmas 2015 is Downton Abbey, with nearly a third (30%) of us looking forward to the finale. Sherlock should set New Year’s Day alight with 23% of us excitedly awaiting the return of everyone’s favourite TV detective. 41% of us say that we always sit down with family to watch the Christmas Day film on what is still a hugely important day for the box in the corner of the living room.
Freesat spokesperson Jennifer Elworthy commented on the findings: “With the best specials and compelling storylines across our favourite soaps, dramas and comedies, Christmas is without a doubt the best time of year to watch telly. This year looks set to be packed with great programmes for the whole family, whatever the situation. The toughest decision will be deciding what to watch.”
Freesat have launched a website with a compilation of the best of Christmas TV for the festive season. You can find some recommendations on the best TV for you this holiday at:Christmas.freesat.co.uk