All I Watch for Christmas

All I Watch for Christmas and Christmas Maximus are two interrelated program blocks respectively carried on TBS and TNT, the two former flagship stations of the Turner Broadcasting System.^[1] Both channels are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery as of 2024.

The blocks feature seasonal Christmas television specials and films in November and December, most of which are from the archives of Warner Bros. Discovery and which are concurrently licensed out to competing cable networks' blocks, such as AMC's Best Christmas Ever and Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas.

History

TBS and TNT had long carried Christmas specials, particularly with the purchase of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer library in 1986. In 1989, TNT became the exclusive broadcaster of the original animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!^[2] It also built a tradition of airing the 1983 film A Christmas Story beginning in 1987, eventually expanding over time to become a full-day marathon by 1997.^[3][4] The Wizard of Oz, a holiday tradition on television since its 1950s golden age, Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, moved to TBS in 1998, 1999 and 2004.^[5]

Other programs in the Warner Bros. library were licensed out to other channels. Through 2017, a package of films such as Elf, Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, The Polar Express and the 1974–1987–2004–1999 library of cel-animated and stop-motion "Animagic" Christmas specials from Rankin/Bass Productions were licensed to what was then ABC Family for its 25 Days of Christmas, where the films were major ratings draws. In 2018, Warner Bros.' parent company entered into a licensing deal with AMC to move those programs to that network, and out of the 25 Days of Christmas.^[6] The Christmas specials from the Hanna-Barbera library were aired on sister channel Boomerang until 2024, when they became a centerpiece of MeTV Toons's holiday programming.^[7]

Over time, TBS and TNT began airing that library on its own channels in addition to continuing to make them available to AMC.^[8] (A Christmas Story remained exclusive to TNT and TBS, while the Grinch animated special has been licensed out to NBC since 2015, with TBS and TNT also showing the special.^[9])

In 2021, TBS and TNT introduced the Winter Break branding as part of their holiday programming slate for that year. During this, TBS' Winter Break branding that year was hosted by Carla, an abominable "snowmonster" voiced by Amy Sedaris, and later, a group of greeting cards on top of an firehouse mantel on 2023, and continued after the rebranding of "All I Watch for Christmas".

The "Christmas Maximus" and "All I Watch for Christmas" block names were introduced in 2024. With the new brand, several of the films will also be featured in TNT's revival of Dinner and a Movie.^[10]

Programming

As of 2024:^[10]

Specials

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (sublicensed to NBC)
• The Year Without a Santa Claus

Films

Films marked † are sublicensed to AMC. As of 2024:

• A Christmas Carol (1999)
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Deck the Halls
• Die Hard†
• Elf†
• Fred Claus†
• Four Christmases†
• Jack Frost†
• Last Christmas
• Last Holiday
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation†
• Office Christmas Party
• The Polar Express†
• Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
• The Wizard of Oz (1939)
• Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
• Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas

Film franchises

• Marvel Cinematic Universe (Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Black Panther) (New Year's Eve only)
• Parker Family Saga (A Christmas Story and A Christmas Story Christmas, including traditional Christmas Day marathon of the former)
• Pirates of the Caribbean (Cyber Monday only)

Sports

• The Match