BBC celebrate Christmas Day viewing figures across a ‘low rating day’

The celebrations may be premiture, as ITV placed most of their content on the ITV Hub and STV Player prior to broadcast.

The BBC’s Christmas Day line-up proved a draw, taking the top seven spots in the ‘overnight ratings’. This possibly enhanced by ITV putting their content online prior to transmissions on the ITV Hub (England, Wales, NI and Channel Islands) and the STV Player (Scotland).

BBC secured eight out of the top ten programmes as audiences turned to the Beeb across the day for ‘ad free viewing’.

Charlotte Moore, BBC’s Chief Content Officer:

“Nothing brings the country together at Christmas quite like the BBC, there was something for everyone … It’s these moments, in a time of intense competition, that prove that after 99 years the BBC matters more than ever. We have an ambitious and exciting year ahead in 2022 to mark our centenary year.”

The huge ‘successes’ see EastEnders, once the top of the TV ratings at Christmas, just scraping into the Top 10 – at number ten – with 2.9 million (although offerings elsewhere wouldn’t topple it from winning the slot, if that is a victory).

8.96m in total watched The Queen combined (ITV/BBC/Sky) with the majority hitting the ‘one button’ to see the broadcast with 7.4 tuned to the Beeb.

Performing reasonably was Strictly Come Dancing with 5.8 million, placing it in second, third watched on the day was Call The Midwife with 4.7 million viewers, The Wheel made for fourth place with 4.6 million turned on and in fifth position Blankety Blank pulled in 4.2 million.

Fans of comedy will be thrilled that BBC One’s Mrs Brown’s Boys didn’t make the Top Ten, reaching 2.78 million, however a 50 year old repeat of Morecambe and Wise, unseen since that first transmission, pulled in almost as many viewers as the new comedy offering over on BBC Two with 2.33.

Coronation Street offered up a more ‘traditional’ fun-ending festive outing which pleased 3.25 in the overnights while a more dramatic Emmerdale pulled in 3 million. Possibly the ‘happier’ serial format in these current times of misery are just what viewers want, with vintage episodes of Crossroads proving a regular top soap pull on BritBox UK and others such as Vintage Corrie also a streaming success.