Christmas TV Listings

The listings in the papers today are still preliminary - we as yet at PA don't have the confirmed schedules for the terrestrial channels.

At the moment, on my long weekend of overtime work, I'm doing ITV3s for Week 52 (18-24 Dec) and they are full of TBAs

Yes the schedule for Christmas night is now as follows

ITV1

5.15pm News
5.30pm WWTBAM
6.30pm Emmerdale
7.00pm Coronation Street
8.00pm Midsomer Murders
10.00pm Parkinson
11.00pm News

BBC1

5.45 News
5.55 Eastenders
6.25 Film: Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone
8.45 Eastenders

So no clashes between any of the soaps, and still a 1/2 hour Emmerdale is scheduled for Christmas Day. These listings in the Sunday papers appear to be much more accurate with fewer TBA's.

You can see from that schedule that BBC1 really have ITV1 where they want them, because if you watch Harry Potter, you miss both soaps and would miss the first 45 mins of Midsomer Murders so therefore wouldn't watch it at all.
It's all about common junctions on Christmas Day, with BBC1's schedule being used as a base forcing ITV1 into dodgy slots, so I predict that ITV1 will alter their schedule slightly to look like this:

5:15 ITV News
5:25 Millionaire
6:25 Emmerdale
7:25 Coronation Street
8:30 ITV News
8:45 Midsomer Murders
10:45 Parkinson
12:00 Late Film

We'll have to see if I'm right.

Also I can't see Last of the Summer Wine showing at 3.10pm on BBC1 some how!

Problem with that - wouldn't soap fans all turn over from ITV either at 8:30 or 8:45, and no one else would be watching ITV at that time?

Unless ITV are hoping people will stick with ITV after Corrie as Harry Potter will already be 95 minutes from the start. If people watch Midsomer Murders then they will miss Deadenders.

I doubt ITV will have a new bulletin at 8.30pm on Christmas Day, its more likely to be after 10pm. I wouldnt be surprised if they showed an hour long Emmerdale though, but I hope not, 1/2 hour is enough, Corrie have some great plots lined up but ive heard nothing about Emmerdale.

Does anyone at all know how accurate they are? As I was looking at the News Of The World one and I couldn't help notice that Mr Bean is on at 8pm for a few nights over the Christmas period on ITV1, though that's very strange considering that ITV haven't shown it in years!

Perhaps even more strange is that ITV1 appear not to be showing any of the James Bond films this Christmas either by the looks of the early schedules. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without at least 1 Bond film showing, in fact ITV1 appear to have steared well clear from the Bond films in recent months. ITV haven't shown any of the Sean Connery Bonds for a long time now.

I have also noticed in Sunday's Christmas guides that BBC2 appears to be showing News 24 overnight everynight over the Christmas fortnight alongside BBC1. This is disapointing if this true and rather poor scheduling I think. Either BBC1 or BBC2 should be showing alternative programming like overnight films or at least a couple of hours of Ceefax. Nobody wants to watch the same news bullitin on two channels. Hopefully this idea will be dropped by the BBC at the last minute. I've also noticed CBBC starting at 7am on BBC2 every morning and not 6am which is also odd as CBBC always starts at 6am in the weekdays.

I doubt a lot of people will switch over to watch corrie then harry potter, I mean, Harry Potter? A lot of people will have already seen it on DVD or whatever.

heres my thoughts on christmas day

bbc one

12.50 top of the pops
13.50 only fools and horses
15.00 the queen
15.10 jack frost: the boy with the frozen touch
15.40 film: 102 dalmations
17.15 my family
17.45 news
17.55 eastenders
18.25 film: harry potter
20.45 eastenders
21.20 the vicar of dibley
22.15 news
22.25 big impression
23.00 film


itv1

14.00 the little raindeer
15.00 the queen
15.10 movie premier or bond flick?
17.40 news
17.45 who wants to be a millionare
18.45 emmerdale
19.30 corronation street
20.30 midsomer murders
22.30 parkinson
23.50 news
00.00 film

News 24 on both channels overnight has never happened and will never happen. Its just silly. Even though BBC1 will finish quite late most nights due to the Sign Zone, it will definitely be Ceefax all the night on BBC2 - as they also never go from News 24 into Ceefax on 2.

The Guardian seem to like having News 24 scheduled for most unfilled slots (which would be close) on BBC2 - at least in the weekend paper. Saying that, they regularly print childrens programmes from 6am-6pm on BBC3...