Fans flock to the old TV series for holiday cheer. Nostalgia is a big factor, say television pundits.
It’s this year’s new comedy Christmas calendar on NRK, “24 Star Christmas Calendar,” which beats older children’s series in viewership.
In total, the series was viewed by an average of 681,000 people on TV and online during the first week of December. VG reviewer gave the series a roll of the dice.
In 2022, it’s “Snøfall”, which is the Christmas calendar again on children’s TV. The series beat “Jul i Blåfjell” as the most-watched Christmas calendar of all time when it came out in 2016. This year, too, it beats blue elves on NRK.
The most viewed Christmas calendars of 2022 after the first week of December:
- 24-star Christmas calendar: 681,000 on average
- Snowfall: 346,000 on average
- Christmas in Blåfjell: 188,000 on average
- Christmas in Svingen: 165,000 on average
Source: Kantar, TVOV. Evaluation out of 1000. NB: P10-79 years and P2-79 years for children’s calendars. The data includes both TV and streaming.
Last year’s success doesn’t make it as good in 2022. “Kristiania magiskes tivolitheater” premiered in 2021 and was the second smoothest ever.
The first episode was watched by a total of 1,248,000 viewers last year.
Favorite blue
After being unavailable for several years, it became possible to stream the Christmas calendar “Jul i Blåfjell” on NRK this year. Fans have long fought for the popular Christmas calendar to become available again.
The first seven episodes were viewed by an average of 188,000 people in December 2022. The series was first broadcast on NRK in 1999, and it was repeated in 2001, 2004, 2008 and 2011. But then it stopped.
The sequel series, “Christmas on the Moontop,” averaged 114,000 viewers for its first few episodes this year.
Norwegians who love the series gathered on Facebook and even joined the torchlight processions to ask NRK to offer the series:
Snowman fans cheer
Karoline Jæger-Johnsen (23) cheered earlier this year when it became clear that Blåfjell would be available in December.
– We’ve been fighting this for too long. The main reason I’m so happy with the series is that it creates a Christmas atmosphere, it’s childhood memories and nostalgia to the max, says the bloodthirsty fan of Blåfjell.
She he’s already lined up at VG and called for the series to return. The 23-year-old from Straumsjøen in Nordland also sees the series as relevant in today’s society.
– Show that everyone should be included regardless of their differences and differences, that you should share, borrow and give something back, and many other good things. This year has been difficult for many people with everything going on around us, myself included. Then it’s nice to be able to look at Christmas calendars that take us back to the good old days and can bring Christmas joy to an otherwise harsh everyday life, she says.
Which Christmas calendar are you looking at?
It’s not unusual for many of NRK’s older Christmas calendars to be streamed heavily in December, says NRK editorial analyst Henrik Skatvedt.
– The reruns of “Jul i Svingen” and “Snøfall” have performed very well in the last three or four years. This year, ‘Christmas in Blåfjell’ in particular has been a positive reunion for viewers out there with very solid numbers, he says.
Skatvedt says the series hits kids and adults in the 30-49 age group best.
Humor success also with the contestant
This year, TVNorge is broadcasting “Nissene i Bingen” and “Jul i Blodfjell 2”.
– We also offer them digitally, as well as ‘Nissene på laven’, ‘Nissene over skog og hei’ and two seasons of ‘Christmas beer calendar’, says Warner Bros. director of programming Discovery, Magnus Vatn.
He says the most watched series are those broadcast on TV and streamed.
– And especially “Nissene i bingen”, which has an average of around 125,000 spectators per episode, which we are happy with in a calendar that is not fruit and vegetables.
TV 2 also offers Christmas calendars. After questions from VG, channel press manager Jan-Petter Dahl says this is the average so far for the stream:
- The Christmas calendar: 25,000
- Vaseline Christmas calendar: 15,000
- Tinka and the Mirror of the Soul: 6000
– A break from stress
– The run-up to Christmas is a very hectic time for most people, so being able to gather in front of the TV to take a little break from the stress is probably something people appreciate, says Sofia Solheim Sigurdsson.
Sigurdsson is a television expert at the Dentsu media agency and analyzes television trends. He believes that nostalgia plays a role in why holiday shows are popular.
– Series that you have good memories of watching, that give you a good feeling, that you can dream a little or relate to, that you probably build a strong relationship with. There are probably many reasons Christmas calendars are so strong, they help count down to Christmas, which for most people is a very pleasant time.
Age also differentiates which TV series we associate most with Christmas.
– Those over the age of 50 think their childhood’s ‘Skomakergata Christmas’ represents Christmas, even if it hasn’t necessarily held up so well when you see it now. TV 2 also has some calendars that have been repeating for several years; “Christmas Ferry” and “The Christmas Calendar” says and adds:
– For the younger generation, we have “Christmas in Blåfjell” and “Christmas on the Moon”, which have been broadcast over and over again and represent Christmas for many young adults. I would also like to believe that those series are strong with parents who have watched them with their children. I well remember myself how much I looked forward to today’s installment of the Christmas calendar on TV as a kid.
Become traditions
It’s not just the Christmas calendars on TV that are streamed in large numbers at Christmas. Christmas movies, old and new, are also popular. VG movie and TV maven Benjamin Brekken thinks Christmas movies have definitely become “big business.”
– And if we start from all the Hallmark Christmas movies that come out every year, probably 30-40, then we know from articles in Forbes and the Business Journal, among others, that they make a lot of money. It’s because Christmas movies are cheap to produce, it takes little time, the formula is pretty pre-established, he says.
Forbes reports that more than 80 million Americans visited a Hallmark movie in 2021 and were wildly successful among all ages.
– This means that advertisers are desperate to buy space for their products during breaks because they reach such a huge audience at the same time.
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