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(12-12-2022, 12:41 AM)Steve in Pudsey Wrote: Apparently that deal runs until 2026.
"I wanted that because if it's not good enough for Christmas Day, then we shouldn't be making it."
www.digitalspy.com
Although ironically the clause enables content that isn't good enough for Christmas Day to be guaranteed a Christmas Day slot and to return year after year.
It absolutely earned the slot in it's first few years after doing good numbers on Boxing Day or Christmas Eve (I think beating everything that aired on Christmas Day), but it probably shouldn't even be getting a special at all now (in Brendan's own words) never mind being on Christmas Day. However not sure what else BBC1 could stick in the slot at the moment.
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Christmas Day 2013 was the first time Mrs Brown's Boys aired on Christmas Day, and has remained there ever since.
The problem for me is it is a programme where it's quality of writing has plummeted with every Christmas Day since then, along with a decline in ratings - surely this was a sign that it needed to at least move out of Christmas Day?
Christmas 2013 saw it gain a whopping 11.5 million viewers, so it deserved a Christmas night slot. Christmas 2021 it has plummeted to 4.6 million viewers. Yes, overnight audiences are decreasing, but that is a marked drop over the space of 8 years.
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An option to get out of showing MBB on Christmas Day is for the BBC to play O'Carroll at his own game and only ask for a New Year special.
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(12-12-2022, 07:10 PM)JMT1985 Wrote: Christmas 2013 saw it gain a whopping 11.5 million viewers, so it deserved a Christmas night slot. Christmas 2021 it has plummeted to 4.6 million viewers. Yes, overnight audiences are decreasing, but that is a marked drop over the space of 8 years.
Not sure where that 4.6m figure comes from but there are a couple of bits of context - 2021 generally saw lower than normal figures for Christmas Day across the board, and Barb reissued a lot of the figures for that period in February after an error in how the data was collected was identified, so everything was under reported in the newspaper reports at the time.
Apparently last year's special did good business for RTE even if it wasn't appreciated in the UK.
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(13-12-2022, 08:01 AM)Steve in Pudsey Wrote: (12-12-2022, 07:10 PM)JMT1985 Wrote: Christmas 2013 saw it gain a whopping 11.5 million viewers, so it deserved a Christmas night slot. Christmas 2021 it has plummeted to 4.6 million viewers. Yes, overnight audiences are decreasing, but that is a marked drop over the space of 8 years.
Not sure where that 4.6m figure comes from but there are a couple of bits of context - 2021 generally saw lower than normal figures for Christmas Day across the board, and Barb reissued a lot of the figures for that period in February after an error in how the data was collected was identified, so everything was under reported in the newspaper reports at the time.
Apparently last year's special did good business for RTE even if it wasn't appreciated in the UK.
4.6 million figure is from the BARB audience rating which all audience figures are derived from.
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I think ultimately it suffered when the series was dropped and they concentrated on the specials instead - means they somewhat become a tickboxing exercise without the overarching elements a series enables. It's fair to say as well that they're not the first comedy to suffer in that manner, although of course series becoming just Christmas specials like Only Fools and Horses and The Royle Family tend to have passed their peak as well. When you look back at the classic Christmas specials over the years it's often the ones that aired whilst the series was still airing which are the stronger efforts.
As for freshening up Christmas Day I do think this year with them starting the new series of Call the Midwife on New Years Day perhaps the opportunity was there not to do the Christmas Day special, but as much as I'd rather they aired something else in the absence of a big comedy special and with EastEnders not being the guaranteed pull it once was I don't really see what they could have done other than airing Death in Paradise on Christmas Day, which then leaves a hole on Boxing Day - especially with no Agatha Christie style three parter in the schedule this year.
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(13-12-2022, 01:05 PM)JMT1985 Wrote: 4.6 million figure is from the BARB audience rating which all audience figures are derived from.
If that's correct it was an increase on the 2020 figure of 3.8m (that's the figure including playback/catchup within 7 days)
www.dailymail.co.uk
Are you sure you're looking at the right year? I can't see your 4.6m figure listed in
rxtvinfo.com
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Well I was informed of that figure by someone who runs a Christmas TV website and who uses BARB figures, I myself thought it was too high, and maybe it was the consolidated audience for 28 day period.
Even given that, it just proves my point, it does not deserve a Christmas Day slot anymore, and the BBC should terminate that clause in the contract - it is a show which is getting buried on Christmas night each year.
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(13-12-2022, 05:05 PM)Brekkie Wrote: I think ultimately it suffered when the series was dropped and they concentrated on the specials instead - means they somewhat become a tickboxing exercise without the overarching elements a series enables. It's fair to say as well that they're not the first comedy to suffer in that manner, although of course series becoming just Christmas specials like Only Fools and Horses and The Royle Family tend to have passed their peak as well. When you look back at the classic Christmas specials over the years it's often the ones that aired whilst the series was still airing which are the stronger efforts.
Yes with the specials they feel the need to include every character so as not to snub anyone for the whole year’s episodes (until of course they started deliberately snubbing some characters after a fall out)
So you’d have a main plot (paper thin in itself) and loads of sub plots, and many of them never actually go anywhere and just fizzle out half way though
The Royle Family suffered because when it was only specials, they felt the need to do something special, and as a result outlandish and far fetched. When the Christmas episode was just another episode alongside the normal series, they could just have them being the same as normal, with hardly anything happening, which everyone knows is what The Royle Family was all about.
(This post was last modified: 13-12-2022, 09:36 PM by
Andrew.)
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This may be a strange post, but does anybody else feel like programmes are ending earlier for Christmas. I ask whilst watching the Christmas special of The Graham Norton Show. With over a week to go I feel that it is strange that the Christmas special won’t be going out the Friday before Christmas. I see the Jonathan Ross Christmas Show also airs tomorrow on ITV. Is this usual and am I misrembering?
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