Research by Samsung Electronics into Brits’ Christmas TV viewing habits has shown that the average family spends around 62 hours sat on the sofa, gorging themselves on content – in other words, they’re at it from the moment they get off work until it’s time to go back again once the New Year rolls in. 

That’s the takeaway from the survey of 2,000 Brits, who revealed they spend an average of four and a half hours per day sat watching the box from December 20 to January 2.

The survey revealed quite a bit about the average family’s viewing habits. For instance, families will have an average of five conversations per day discussing either what to watch or talking about something they’ve already seen. Some of those discussions can get a little heated though - with an average of two arguments over the TV each day. And it’s dad who usually wins and gets to keep hold of the remote. 

Samsung’s survey results suggest that watching TV remains a paramount fixture of the Christmas holiday, with almost two thirds of adult respondents saying they “couldn’t go without” the TV over the festive season. Another 33% went even further, saying the TV is the single most important part of Christmas. 

Some will take things so seriously they’ll spend an hour or more poring over the Christmas TV guides to decide what they should watch. 

Which brings us to the next finding – The Queen’s Speech was deemed by respondents to be the main “must watch” TV event over the Christmas period, followed closely by festive Coronation Street episodes and the beloved classic, Only Fools and Horses. 

Samsung Electronics UK’s Head of TV/AV Retail & Content Services, Deep Halder, said the survey shows that Brits love nothing more than their Christmas TV viewing time, with 65% of people preferring to stay at home, glued to the box, rather than go out. 

“Families across the UK will soon be starting the much-anticipated conversations around what they’ll be watching on their TVs this Christmas and with the whole family to please, having a festive TV-watching plan is a great idea to get into the Christmas spirit and avoid any festive TV disagreements,” Halder said. 

Indeed, the survey found that 40% of respondents love nothing more than to research the upcoming Xmas programming and plan their viewing schedule, saying it’s one of the “favourite parts” of the holiday period.

Halder helpfully suggests Samsung TV owners should take a look at Samsung TV Plus, an exclusive and free service that provides instant access to more than 80 live and on-demand TV channels. 

Just beware that not everyone can enjoy a smooth, uninterrupted viewing experience when there are multiple family members all with their own ideas about what they want to watch. One out of five people said they get annoyed by other family members who’re constantly channel hopping rather than settling on a programmed. Disagreements over what to watch are the most likely cause of an argument, according to 26% of respondents. And almost one in four stated they get seriously annoyed when another family member talks while a plot twist is taking place.