98 PER CENT OF FILMS ON TV THIS CHRISTMAS WILL BE REPEATS
Christmas TV listings reveal a massive 98 per cent of movies available on terrestrial and satellite TV will be repeats. UK viewers can expect a serious spoonful of déjà-view – out of the 533 films due to appear over the three-day festive period, over 500 will be reruns with just 16 premieres coming to the small screen – an annual decrease of 30 per cent.
LOVEFiLM, Europe’s largest subscription service streaming movies and TV episodes over the Internet and sending DVDs by post, commissioned the research to highlight that viewers don’t have to be limited to choosing films from dated TV listings this year, instead they can take control of what they watch and when they watch it using the LOVEFiLM Player or by choosing from a selection of over 70,000 DVDs available to rent by post – ensuring it won’t be a silent night in UK households with entertainment from Toy Story 3, Twilight: Eclipse and Heartbreaker.
The research revealed that strapped broadcasters will be delivering less variety than ever as dwindling TV budgets have led to skeletal schedules over the festive fortnight despite the actual number of movies available over Christmas increasing by 12 per cent from 2009. According to the full Christmas TV listings, 98 per cent of Christmas Day movies on the terrestrial channels – including Love Actually, Casper and Jurassic Park – have already been shown before.
Satellite TV and cable don’t fare much better, they will be showing movies of the Christmas past with new releases only scheduled for Christmas Eve – just one per cent of all films viewed on the Satellite and Cable channels will be premieres, which will each be repeated six times over a three-day period.
Helen Cowley, Editor of LOVEFiLM.com commented:
“We are disappointed to see so many repeats in the Christmas TV line-up. We love the classics and the latest releases at LOVEFiLM, but it would be good to see more new films on the box this year.”
“To compensate for the limited selection of films strapped broadcasters are due to air between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, we’re preparing ourselves for an increased demand of our streaming service and DVD library over the festive period.”
