Why Christmas Day television isn't the big deal it used to be five years ago

No major programme passed the seven million viewer mark this year for the first time

(ITV)

The tradition of families gathering in the living room to watch block-buster live broadcast television at Christmas is going out of fashion, according to the latest viewing figures.

The highest watched Christmas Day television programme of 2015 was the finale of Downton Abbey, seen by an audience of 6.9 million people according to overnight ratings.

No programme on any single channel broke the seven million viewer mark in 2015 - for the first time in decades.

This represents a significant drop compared to 2010, when three programmes recorded more than 10 million viewers each.

The most watched item on television was the ten-minute long Queen’s Speech, which was viewed by 7.4 million people, but spread over both BBC One and ITV1.

Other highlights included Eastenders, which was seen by 5.7 million people and Strictly Come Dancing, which was watched by 6.5 million people.

The shift in live audiences is likely to be down to the increased prevalence of video on demand services, catch-up services, and internet streaming.

Consolidated figures, due out in the next few days, are expected to show significant increases in the number of people watching Christmas television at a later time.

Doctor Who writer and Sherlock creator Mark Gattis warned last month that too much focus was being put on overnight viewing figures.

He said the figures were anachronistic because of the large numbers of people who were now watching programmes later on services like iPlayer, 4oD, or Netflix

“The ratings system is insane and iniquitious,” he told the Radio Times magazine.

“Those episodes of Bake Off or The X Factor, and their virtues are manifest, will never be watched again. Yet Doctor Who will be watched in 50 years' time, 100 years' time. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

“I love things to be popular, I want things to be watched, but this sort of scrutiny is deadly.”

Charlotte Moore, the controller of BBC One said: “BBC One brought the nation together with a distinctive range of programmes on Christmas Day and eight of the top 10 most popular shows.”

ITV’s director of television, Peter Fincham, said: “Downton has been a defining drama for ITV, and a joy to have. It’s fitting that the Christmas special brought audiences together and we are delighted that the finale was the most watched programme of the night on Christmas Day.”