With the rise in on-demand viewing, it would be forgiven for thinking families would eschew live television this Christmas Day. But a poll conducted by RadioTimes.com has revealed the opposite – instead we still gather around the television to watch live, with 85 per cent of 16,000 respondents choosing to tune into the TV as a family on 25th December. And we’re not just flicking on the TV for the Queen’s Speech or Doctor Who’s Christmas special – 41 per cent watch five or more hours of TV on the day itself.

Some 62 per cent of respondents said they preferred to watch scheduled television on Christmas Day, as opposed to on-demand, with 72 per cent saying they did not use any on-demand services during the day. And rather than rely on their smartphones, it is the television that 50 per cent of those surveyed said was the one device they could not live without.

“The results of our survey show that despite the popularity of digital services and streaming services every other day of the year, Christmas day remains one of the few days when the whole family still gathers around the television to watch live TV,” said Tim Glanfield, Editor of RadioTimes.com.

“And its popularity doesn’t seem to be diminishing, only 2 per cent of people say that they don’t watch any TV on Christmas day and a staggering 17 per cent watch more than seven hours, small wonder that nearly half of them also fall asleep in front of the box.”

But rather than keep the TV on from start to finish, there are moments during the day when the majority of people turn away, with 70 per cent switching off during Christmas dinner while 63 per cent choose to open presents with no distractions.

And while in the past, the Queen’s speech was a mainstay for families up and down the country, nowadays 44 per cent say they don’t bother to tune in, with 15 per cent revealing they have never watched the annual message recorded at Buckingham Palace.

Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Research