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Christmas TV Around the World

So what does the rest of the world? (December 2003)

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BR
Brekkie
So what does the World watch over Christmas? We know 11 countries will be getting World Idol, while the Commonwealth gets the Queen's Speech, but what else is on over Christmas around the world?

A quick look at the USA:
Looking at NBC's schedule, they have It's A Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve while Christmas Day looks like a standard Thursday night schedule to me, with Will and Grace, Friends and ER, while CBS have regular current affairs strands such as 60 Minutes II on Christmas Eve while Fox only highlights World Idol on Christmas Day.

Any one have anymore info from the Worlds festive TV guide?
WH
Whataday Founding member
There's an article about this in this week's Radio Times. It has the TV highlights for several different countries including Australia, Sweden and Germany.
SE
Square Eyes Founding member
Australia's ABC Christmas Schedule is interesting, and they have a lot of our programmes, here are some highlights

7.45am The Santa Claus Brothers (ITV1 have this on Christmas Eve)

8.30am Play School - Adventures with Big Ted, Jemima etc.

9am Carols from Kings - from the Chapel of Kings College Camridge (2002)

1.45pm Songs of Praise - Christmas Special from Lincoln

5pm Robbie the Reindeer in Hooves of Fire

5.30pm Robbie the Reindeer The Legend of the Lost Tribe

7.20pm Queens Christmas Message

8pm Mr Bean

and we thought our telly was bad ?
ED
ED Founding member
CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS DAY PRIMETIME IN CANADA:

CTV
Christmas Eve

6:00pm - Local News
6:30pm - The Elfkin's First Christmas (pre-empting 2nd half of Local News)
7:00pm - Sue Thomas: FB Eye
8:00pm - Degrassi: The Next Generation
9:00pm - CTV Movie: Stolen Miracle
11:00pm - CTV National News
11:30pm - CTV Movie: A Christmas Carol (pre-empting local late night news)

Christmas Day

6:00pm - Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer (pre-empting local news)
7:00pm - Sue Thomas: FB Eye
8:00pm - ER
9:00pm - World Idol
11:00pm - CTV National News
11:30pm - CTV Movie: The REF (pre-empting local news)

CBC:
Christmas Eve

6:00pm - CBC News (National)
6:30pm - CBC News (Local)
7:00pm - Frosty The Snowman
7:30pm - Frosty Returns
8:00pm - CBC Movie: Scrooge
10:00pm - CBC News: The National
11:00pm - CBC Movie: Going My Way
1:00am - Sign Off

Christmas Day

6:00pm - CBC News (National)
6:30pm - Huron Christmas Carole (Pre-empting local news)
7:30pm - CBC Movie: White Christmas
10:00pm - CBC News: The National
10:30pm - Queen's Message to the Commonwealth
10:40pm - CBC Movie: The Bells of St. Mary's

GLOBAL
Christmas Eve

5:30pm - Global News (Local)
6:00pm - Global News (Local)
6:30pm - GlobalNational
7:00pm - Train 48
7:30pm - Entertainment Tonight
8:00pm - Festival of Stars
9:00pm - Movie: Silent Night
11:00pm - The Christmas Tree (Pre-empting local news/sports)
12:00am - Crystal Cathedral Service

Christmas Day

6:00pm - GlobalNational (no local news)
6:30pm - In Conversation with the Prime Minister
7:00pm - Train 48
7:30pm - Entertainment Tonight
8:00pm - Bob & Margaret
8:30pm - Canada's Walk of Fame 2003
11:00pm - In Conversation with... (repeat from 6:30pm - no local news)
11:30pm - Christmas in the Arctic

Most other independent & local stations will be carrying regular programming.
:-(
A former member
A New Year's Eve tradition in Germany is, would you believe, a British short play from the early sixties?

I believe it's also shown in some parts of Scandinavia.

Have a shufti.
CO
Corin
Brekkie Boy posted:
Looking at NBC's schedule, they have It's A Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve while Christmas Day looks like a standard Thursday night schedule to me

In fact, I would hazard a guess that if you actually check the schedules of the major networks carefully, you will find that the standard evening shows such as you have mentioned, are in fact reruns and not
all new shows . And how many times do you have to watch "Charlie Brown's Christmas Special"
or "The Grinch who Stole Christmas" every year before becoming utterly bored with the standard network schedule? And do not forget that other perennial dragged out very year in the local station schedules -- the classic Alistair Sims version of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol .
CW
cwathen Founding member
Quote:
In fact, I would hazard a guess that if you actually check the schedules of the major networks carefully, you will find that the standard evening shows such as you have mentioned, are in fact reruns and not
all new shows. And how many times do you have to watch "Charlie Brown's Christmas Special"

Yes, whilst British TV has a 'pull out all the stops for Christmas' philosophy American TV seems to take more of a 'save it because it because it's christmas' approach.

Most primetime shows do have a christmas show though, although this always seems to get aired the week before christmas. One show missing this year however is Friends, with the final season also being 5/6 episodes shorter than usual despite it being intended to last the same amount of time. It's now approaching the end of a 2 month break from new episodes which meant that it didn't get a christmas episode this year.
KI
Kikrokos
Hello,

To everyone fron the U.S.: I am kind of curious about the amount of commercial breaks during TV-programs on channels like NBC an CBS... Let's take a movie like 'Its a wonderful life' for exemple: hoe long does it last and how many breaks are there during the movie?

And what about half hour-during programs: how many breaks do they take? Here in The Netherlands there's one commercial break during programs which last for half an hour but it is said that American TV broadcasts more breaks than programs...

Byebye, and merry Christmas nevertheless it has ended in a few minutes.
CW
cwathen Founding member
Quote:
And what about half hour-during programs: how many breaks do they take? Here in The Netherlands there's one commercial break during programs which last for half an hour but it is said that American TV broadcasts more breaks than programs...

I've been watching Sweden's TV4 for about 2 1/2 years now and until not so long ago there were no internal commercial breaks, only breaks between programmes (except during films when they'd split it into two halves, each scheduled separately, with a news update in the middle to get around the rules).

In America the amount of breaks varies between different times of the day. On a first run network primetime airing of a flagship show, a half hour show will have a running time of about 22 minutes, and an hour long show a running time of about 44.

Out of primetime, commercial slots are cheaper so more adverts are shown. A half hour programme will than have a running time of about 20 minutes, and an hour long programme about 40.

Network programmes after their primetime showing will then be made available in a syndicated version, which will have some scenes cut out to bring it down to the non primetime running lengths so that more commercials can be shown whilst it will still fit into the same sized slot. This also increases the desirability of video/dvd releases of primetime programmes, because if you didn't catch the original airing it is unlikely they will ever be shown in this format in America again.

As for actual number of breaks, it again can vary. A half hour primetime programme like Friends will have a break immediately after the title sequence, two more internal breaks, and possibly another break before the credits (which are often ECP'd in primetime), making for 4 in all, instead of the single break in the middle we have here. In America however they are unlikely to have a break in between two programmes as is still the norm here.

Outside of primetime, different stations have different approaches. Some go for the same number of breaks but with more commercials in each, some go for more breaks but with less commercials in each. It depends on what they think works best at the time.

I don't know for certain what the rules on breaks are, but I think it's 65% average programme content, which is what they all seem to aim for. I don't think there are any rules on how this has to be distributed though.
:-(
A former member
chinajan posted:
A New Year's Eve tradition in Germany is, would you believe, a British short play from the early sixties?


yes, this is a tradition in the whole germanspeaking part of europe (switzerland an austria too) you can't miss it because it reruns on 31. Dec so many times (20-30 times but everytime on another channel)

The christmas program for Switzerland was:
christmas eve
SF1
19:30 Tagesschau (news)
19:50 Meteo (weather)
20:00 Forrest Gump
22:15 Ziehung des Schweizer Zahlenlottos (lottery)
22:20 Tagesschau
22:35 Lessons in Harmony Ein Orchester für den Frieden Sounds like Christmas (classical concert)

SF2
19:05 The Osbournes
19:30 Tagesschau
19:50 Meteo
20:00 Der Hund der Baskervilles (hound of baskerville)
21:40 Kleine Dorrit I: Niemand hat Schuld (germanmovie)

Christmas
SF1
19:30 Tagesschau
19:55 Meteo
20:00 In pled sin via Alistair Murray
20:05 Stille Nacht - Weihnachtsgala (Show)
21:45 Tagesschau
22:00 Klanghotel Musik Hoover Street Revival - Gospel mit Herz und Seele
23:30 Evita (film)

SF2
19:05 The Osbournes
19:30 Tagesschau
19:50 Meteo
20:00 Pay It Forward - Das Glücksprinzip
21:40 Kleine Dorrit I: Niemand hat Schuld (german film)
KI
Kikrokos
Thank you cwathen, for your kind and clear explanation. Very Happy

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