Ballymena Guardian - Features - Is Christmas TV getting worse?

Features

Is Christmas TV getting worse?

Monday, 19 December 2011

Christmas is a time of great celebration, joy and tradition. As families and friends, we share our food, drink and company. We exchange presents, recount tales of Christmases past, enjoy a hearty meal and each year we peruse the festive TV offerings and gravely intone that 'Christmas television is just not what it once was'.

So, is Christmas TV really getting worse?

The automatic reaction is to assume that it is. Several years ago, before the many technological advances that have 'improved' our viewing, the Christmas TV schedules were eagerly awaited. Families would pour over the special editions of the Radio and TV Times to plan their Christmas viewing schedule. Visits to family and friends were plotted around the times of the best TV shows, the iconic Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special being chief amongst them.

The general feeling seems to be that nowadays this is no longer the case, and Christmas television programmes are poorer in quality now than they were in the past.

The reality is, the technical innovation in the past 25 years has seen a vast improvement in television services throughout the year, meaning that even the best modern offerings at Christmas do not shine quite so brightly from the crowd.

30 years ago, your TV Licensing payment would allow you access to three channels. That became four when Channel 4 started on 2nd November 1982, but the real change in terms of output came with the advent of satellite television in the 90s.

Suddenly, films and television programmes that were once regarded as festive-only treats became part of everyday life. The wealth of options available when satellite television first beamed into UK households made it appear as if it was Christmas everyday on the television schedules.

Over time, as a society, we have grown accustomed to this wealth and diversity of programming so that it has become the norm: there are now hundreds of channels offering a vast array of high quality programming. You can even watch TV online using BBC iPlayer, ITV Player or similar.

Many of the top TV channels and production houses also have their own resident YouTube channel. Live TV quiz shows offer the chance not only for the contestant to play for money, but for the viewer to join in too by playing via the phone or online.

In the past, such breadth of choice and technical innovation would have been seen as a once-a-year treat and the height of the television calendar. Nowadays, we are somewhat spoiled by the fact that popular broadcasting companies offer high quality television shows and interactive services on a daily basis.

The net result of this pioneering innovation has been a drastic improvement in the quality and choice of television services. So, that documentary you missed because you were delayed at work will be repeated on one of the many other digital channels available, or you can watch it online at a time that suits you. You can even download apps onto your mobile phone that allows you to watch programmes while you are on the move, via live streaming or specialist video sites.

Far from lessening the quality of British television at Christmas, these innovations in technology have improved the quality of all the programmes we watch throughout the year. How we watch them has also improved dramatically, TV pictures are now much clearer in high definition; our screens sharper, more vibrant and of a better contrast thanks to plasma, LED and LCD technology.

With Christmas specials of top quality shows like Downton Abbey, Top Gear, Absolutely Fabulous, Jim'll Fix It, Mrs Brown's Boys, Doctor Who and QI set to grace the airwaves this Christmas, it's clear that television over the festive period is markedly better than it has been in years gone by. What has changed most is the quality and abundance of programming available to us, and the variety of ways in which we can watch.