Comedy series tops Christmas TV ratings - how many watched?

Comedy series tops Christmas TV ratings – but how many watched?

The final episode of the acclaimed British sitcom, Gavin and Stacey, achieved an impressive milestone, recording an audience of 12.3 million viewers. This remarkable figure surpasses the viewership of their last Christmas special five years ago, marking it as the highest-rated Christmas Day program since 2008.

The BBC’s exceptional lineup dominated the viewership, with all ten of the day’s most-watched shows airing on their network—a first in history—concluding a remarkable year for the BBC.

Among the most anticipated broadcasts of the year, the new Wallace and Gromit feature-length film, Vengeance Most Fowl, secured second place with an impressive audience of 9.4 million. On Christmas Day, BBC One achieved its highest viewership share since 2007, significantly outpacing all subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services combined, and nearly doubling overall viewership, particularly among the 16-34 demographic. BBC One’s audience was three times larger than both Netflix and YouTube when considered individually, and it more than doubled the viewership of each service within the 16-34 age group. Collectively, the BBC accounted for more than 50% of the total viewing within the broadcast market for this demographic. Notably, BBC iPlayer alone surpassed Netflix in terms of viewership, both overall and within the 16-34 age bracket.

On Christmas Day, the BBC dominated television viewership, achieving its largest audience share for BBC One since 2007. BBC One outperformed all subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services combined, nearly doubling overall viewership, as well as surpassing them among the 16-34 demographic. In fact, BBC One’s audience was three times that of both Netflix and YouTube individually, and more than twice the size for the 16-34 age group. Overall, the BBC accounted for over 50% of the viewing in the broadcaster market within this demographic. Additionally, BBC iPlayer independently exceeded Netflix in viewership, both overall and among the 16-34 audience.

Charlotte Moore, BBC’s Chief Content Officer says: “Christmas Day on the BBC brought people together in their millions and saw Gavin and Stacey triumph. Ruth Jones and James Corden created a magical finale that fans will treasure forever. Their exquisitely written comedy creation is a show all about family, love and joy and it proved to be the unmissable TV event of the year. I’m very proud that the line-up across the day was a showcase for the very best in British storytelling, and caps off an exceptional 2024 for the BBC with increased market share against the competition both local and global.”

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