Annual launch of Christmas movie channel continues to get earlier every year, as digital broadcaster rejigs its channel line-up on Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media.
- GREAT! Christmas channel goes live on Thursday 4 September
- New mystery channel replaces GREAT! movies
All change for two Freeview channels in early September, as GREAT! romance is paused to make way a dedicated Christmas-themed movie channel and GREAT! movies makes way for a channel showcasing crime dramas and movies.
Fans of feel-good, cheesy, romantic Christmas films rejoice: GREAT! Christmas is returning to TV screens. The channel’s annual launch has been slowly creeping earlier every year, and this year is no exception. GREAT! Christmas will launch at 8:00am on Thursday 4 September, a day earlier than last year. The channel will offer up to 21 hours of non-stop seasonal movies every day.
You’ll be able to find GREAT! Christmas in the UK on Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, Freely (via aerial**) and streaming platforms, taking over the slots currently in use by GREAT! romance. Viewers in the Republic of Ireland can watch on Sky’s TV platforms.
The channel is operated by Narrative Entertainment, the broadcaster behind the GREAT! network of movie and entertainment channels and the POP! family of children’s channels.
GREAT! movies replaced
Also on 4 September, long running Freeview channel GREAT! movies will be replaced. The channel, which has been on air for over a decade (under previous owners as ‘Sony Movie Channel’ and ‘MovieMix’) will bow out at just before 6am. From 8am, viewers will be able to watch GREAT! Mystery in its place on Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media and Freely (via aerial**). The channel will be available on Sky’s TV platforms in the Republic of Ireland.
There’s already a streaming channel of the same name, available on connected Freeview devices via channel 61. However, the new GREAT! Mystery channel will incorporate a wider range of shows, including The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Castle and Murder, She Wrote alongside made-for-TV crime movies and thrillers.
Ahead of the end of GREAT! movies, the channel was recently moved to a new slot on Freeview. If you haven’t recently retuned Freeview, GREAT! Movies and its replacement GREAT! Mystery should appear on channel 50. Sister channel GREAT! TV is now found on channel 34*.
▶ How to watch GREAT! Christmas (from 4 September 2025)
UK
- Freeview channel 52
- Sky satellite channel 319
- Sky Stream/Glass channel 317
- Virgin Media channel 424
- Freely channel 47 (via aerial)
Republic of Ireland
- Sky satellite channel 320
- Sky Stream/Glass channel 317
▶ How to watch GREAT! Mystery (from 4 September 2025)
UK
- Freeview channel 50
- Sky satellite channel 321
- Sky Stream/Glass channel 318
- Virgin Media channel 425
- Freely channel 48 (via aerial)
Republic of Ireland
- Sky satellite channel 321
- Sky Stream/Glass channel 318
Streaming and on-demand
GREAT! Christmas and the rest of the GREAT! network of channels is available via the GREAT! Player.
GREAT! player is available on the following platforms:
- Freeview Play
- YouView
- Web browser https://great-player.com
- Mobile/tablet app for Android and iOS
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android TV
- Google TV
Freeview / Freely availability
*The GREAT! network of channels is not available from Freeview transmitters located on the Channel Islands or Isle of Man. Elsewhere, reception is subject to local coverage.
**TVs with Freely currently need to be connected to an aerial to access these channels; they are currently not part of the wi-fi/internet only line-up of services. In turn, availability via aerial is subject to the same conditions as Freeview (see previous paragraph).