Multichannel TV is Christmas week winner

More people watched shows on non-terrestrial channels than on BBC One or ITV1 over the Christmas period, according to figures out today.

Non-terrestrial viewing on digital, satellite and cable accounted for a 29.1% audience share during Christmas week, compared to BBC One's 27.2% and ITV1's 22.0%.

The ratings mark the first time that the main two terrestrial stations have had a combined Christmas share lower than 50%. The non-terrestrial figure is some 20% higher than in 2003, no doubt a result of the huge growth of the Freeview service in the past twelve months.

The most-watched non-terrestrial programme during the period was Sky Sport 1's coverage of the Newcastle United v Arsenal game, which had an audience of 1.65 million viewers on December 29.

"Multi-channel viewing is on the increase and the BBC is part of that," a BBC spokeswoman told BBC News Online. "We are committed to digital television and for BBC channels to occupy three of the top five places in peak time on Christmas Day is a fantastic achievement."

The most-watched show on any network was the Christmas Day episode of EastEnders, seen by 12.3 million viewers.