Tell us this, Sherlock: why has the big Christmas movie had its Chips?

It is as much a part of the festive experience as belching grandads and stodgy trifles. But now the days of the Yuletide "family TV experience" could be all but over.

If you were expecting the main channels to compete with bumper helpings of blockbuster premieres and comedy specials this Yuletide, forget it. Though BBC1's Christmas Day movies include recent box-office hits Chicken Run and The Wedding Singer, the best ITV1 has to offer is the umpteenth screenings of Jaws and Thunderball.

Instead, the commercial broadcaster's schedule is dominated by extended episodes of Coronation Street and Emmerdale and celebrity game shows, including a Blind Date special featuring Tara Palmer-Tomkinson. The cheap and cheerful Christmas schedule does perk up briefly on Boxing Day, when ITV1's big-budget retelling of Goodbye Mr Chips goes head to head with the BBC's new rendering of Hound of the Baskervilles.

But throughout the rest of the Christmas and New Year period, major movies are notable by their absence on ITV1.

While BBC1 can boast A Bug's Life and American Beauty, ITV1 makes do with such hardy perennials as Mary Poppins and The Great Escape.

In an age where films are available on digital channels, DVD and video long before they ever appear on terrestrial TV, some believe the era of the traditional family Christmas around the box is over.

"TV has changed over the years," said Gill Hudson, editor of Radio Times. "I remember rushing to BBC1 and ITV to find out what they were putting up against each other. The problem nowadays is that you are not getting whole families sitting down together to watch something in the way that we used to."

Sophie Turner Laing, BBC controller of acquisitions, added: "Whereas major films used to get 20 million or more viewers at Christmas, it is now very significant if they get 10 million."

Chris Hayward, head of TV with the industry analyst Zenith Media, said that the lack of stand-out programmes on ITV1 this Christmas reflected its growing awareness of the harsh realities of the advertising market.

He said the network has recognised it will raise more money by screening blockbusters in the weeks leading to Christmas, rather than on the day itself. "ITV is deploying its best stuff where it feels it will attract revenue," he said. "The weeks before are good for advertisers, but Christmas Day itself is a dead day."

An ITV spokeswoman said: "We have never had big movies at Christmas. That's the BBC's domain, as they spend vastly more money on the Christmas schedule. We respond to advertiser demand by investing more pre- and post-Christmas and thus our festive schedules have traditionally tended to be a blend of the best of ITV throughout the year. This year is no different."