The countdown to Christmas has officially started, as broadcasters prepare for the festive season. Narrative Entertainment will relaunch its GREAT! Christmas channel at 8 am on Thursday, September 5th.

Replacing the GREAT! Romance channel, GREAT! Christmas movie channel will air daily from 8 am, featuring a lineup of continuous seasonal films, often made specifically for TV.

This year’s early return of GREAT! Christmas movie channel, which is 111 days before Christmas and two days earlier than last year, reflects the growing trend of an extended holiday season. The channel will remain on air until Wednesday, January 8th, extending its run compared to previous years.

This is almost as silly as Movies 24 “Christmas in July” offering, which seems to now be an annual offering.

GREAT! Christmas movie channel will be available for free to viewers on Freeview and Sky satellite receivers. However, it will not be accessible on Freesat, as Narrative Entertainment removed its channels from Freesat in February 2024.

Although some Freesat users can still watch the channels, using “non Freesat mode”.