Repeats? Viewers love them, insist TV bosses

... after they reveal 7 in 10 festive shows will be reruns

tv Bosses have insisted that audiences love repeats – as it was revealed that seven out of ten programmes over Christmas will be from the archives.

excluding the news and weather, half of all the shows on BBC1 over the festive fortnight will be reruns.

some are seasonal favourites such as A Christmas Carol and Wallace And gromit, but others are well-worn daytime series including Bargain hunt and homes under the hammer.

however, BBC1’s seasonal line-up feels distinctly fresh when compared with the other main channels.

some 70 per cent of the programmes on Channel 4 and Itv are old – and on BBC2 it is 78 per cent. It means many households will find themselves watching old episodes of dad’s Army, the simpsons and Catchphrase as they search out entertainment.

Broadcasters are also delving back into the film archives, dusting off decades- old movies for yet another airing. Back to the future III and Jurassic park are both set to appear on Itv, while the BBC is replaying the Indiana Jones series.

tv chiefs are unapologetic about recycling so many programmes during the fortnight from saturday december 19. mark linsey, acting director of television at the BBC, said this week: ‘many people appreciate – or even expect – a chance to watch old favourites again. five million tuned in to a repeat of mrs Brown’s Boys last year.

‘We should make no apology for giving viewers another chance to watch some classic BBC programmes and modern family favourites again.’

Channel 4 also defended the feeling of deja vu, saying: ‘We have significantly increased the number of original programmes in peak-time alongside a range of Christmas classics viewers enjoy from It’s A Wonderful life through to the snowman.’

BBC1, BBC2 and Itv are all relying more heavily on repeats than they did last year. Channel 4 is the only one to have cut reruns, paring them back slightly from 72 per cent in 2014. however, all four have reduced the number of repeats in the evenings, when most viewers are watching, and are instead using most of the archive shows to pad out their daytime schedules.

they said that while the number of repeated programmes has risen, the actual number of hours of old content has fallen and they still have plenty of new content to air.

An Itv spokesman said: ‘We have strong highlights including new dramas peter & Wendy and harry price: ghost hunter, the two-hour finale of downton Abbey, an ambi- tious live production of the sound of music, and a Christmas day tribute to Cilla Black in our Cilla.’

the BBC disputed the methods used to count repeats, saying the news and weather should be included in the final tally. A spokesman said: ‘Well over 90 per cent of BBC1 peak time will be brand new and the channel will show fewer repeats than last year, with nearly two thirds of all hours being original programmes.’