Whip Media Survey: Holiday TV movie viewing trends
November 29, 2022
The holiday TV season is upon us, and a survey from Whip Media looks at US viewers’ attitudes and behaviours toward made-for-TV holiday movies as networks and streamers are rolling out their seasonal titles.
There are hundreds of new Christmas movies premiering in 2022 — and consumers of holiday movie content have a strong appetite for them. Slightly more than half of the respondents (53 per cent) prioritise watching holiday content during the season, according to the survey.
The key findings include:
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Hallmark, Netflix, Lifetime, Disney+ and Hulu were ranked the top-of-mind providers for seasonal titles.
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Viewers of holiday fare like to mix old and new movies. A strong majority (74 per cent) report watching both new and previously released made-for-TV holiday movies. Nearly one-fifth (17 per cent) of holiday TV movie viewers focus on new releases only.
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More than half of the respondents said they discovered new holiday movies through ads or trailers (52 per cent) and/or recommendations from a streaming service or device (51 per cent). Nearly half (47 per cent) also indicated the importance of social media in finding out about new holiday releases.
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The premise/storyline (68 per cent) and actors/cast (61 per cent) were rated as the top reasons for deciding to watch holiday movies, but having access to the network/platform was also important to 58 per cent of respondents.
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71 per cent of the respondents indicated they regularly watch these titles alone, with 51 per cent saying they will often watch with their families. A little more than a quarter (28 per cent) watch with their partner.
The Whip Media survey is based on responses from 3,214 US-based users of TV Time who indicated they are viewers of holiday films. The survey was conducted from November 9-10, 2022. The full survey results can be downloaded here.