Lib Dem research shows Christmas TV repeats 'up a quarter'

3.19.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Sat 15th Dec 2007

Wallace and Gromit will have a repeat screening on Christmas Day

The number of repeats on TV this Christmas has increased by a quarter since last year, according to research by the Liberal Democrats. The study found that 44% of all programmes shown between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day will be repeats, up from 35% a year ago. Channel Five was the worst offender, as almost 60% of its output had been seen before and Christmas Day repeats were up on all networks except Channel 4.

Don Foster - "No need to repeat programmes during primetime"

The research also suggested that 80% of all programmes specifically produced for children shown between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day would be repeats. "People are fed up with Christmas TV because of repeats," the Liberal Democrats' culture spokesman, Don Foster, said. "Children's programmes are the most worrying of all. Christmas is predominantly for children and it's a pity that they're getting 80% repeats." The BBC said they are very happy to be able to offer viewers the chance to see some of the BBC's best programmes again over the holiday period as their research shows that viewers really appreciate this. But Don Foster said there was no need to repeat programmes during prime time schedules, owing to the growth of personal video recorders and other on-demand services. We can access programmes in a variety of ways to watch time and again at a time of our own choosing, so putting them in the schedules is not a good excuse".