Free-to-air movie channel GREAT! Christmas is to launch earlier than ever this year, with back-to-back seasonal feel good movies from early September.
- GREAT! Christmas is launching on Thursday 7th September.
- 109 days before Christmas and one day earlier than last year.
- More viewers will be able to watch than last year, thanks to recent technical changes on Freeview.
GREAT! Christmas will replace GREAT! Romance during the morning of Thursday 7th September, taking over its slots on Sky, Freesat, Freeview and Virgin Media.
At 8am, the channel starts with the festive film Northpole from 2014 and continues for almost four months with back-to-back seasonal movies.
Last year, GREAT! Christmas launched on the 8th September, which in turn was two weeks earlier than in 2021. But some Freeview viewers missed out as it was on a multiplex with limited UK coverage. Earlier this year, the channel’s owner Narrative Entertainment secured a national Freeview slot for the service, meaning over 90% of UK households are now within range of the Freeview signal. Alternatively, the channel is available on satellite and cable.
Viewers will find the channel on Freeview 52, Freesat channel 303, Sky satellite channel 319, Sky Glass/Stream channel 317 and Virgin Media channel 424.
The channel will run until early January.
Other seasonal channels are expected to begin launching during the course of September and October.
Last year, Trace Xmas became the first Christmas channel to launch, on the 1st September, with nothing but festive hits. However, since then Trace Music has reduced its channel portfolio in the UK and Ireland.
Marc Thornham