🔥 Why 2025 Feels Like the Year of Watch Parties

Last night, over 12 million viewers across the UK tuned in together - at home, in venues, and online - creating a de facto national watch party and marking a cultural shift in how we experience entertainment. The age of lonely binge-watching is fading. In its place? A vibrant, collective movement of shared viewing, real-time reactions, and unforgettable moments.

watchpartiesuk proudly declares 2025 the Year of the Watch Party - a celebration of connection, community, and content that brings us together.

• Collective viewing is back: From pubs screening The Traitors to living rooms buzzing with Strictly, people crave shared reactions and real-time connection.

• Watercooler entertainment: Shows are designed to spark conversation- memes, debates, and next-day chatter are part of the experience.

• Venues are leaning in: Cinemas, bars, and even universities are hosting themed nights, tapping into fandom and community.

• Legal clarity is improving: With better guidance on licensing, more venues feel confident hosting public screenings.

• Digital fatigue is real: After years of solo streaming, people are hungry for in-person joy and shared emotion.

• A movement with impact: Watch parties boost local economies, strengthen social bonds, and create shared cultural rituals.

We are witnessing a cultural shift - from passive consumption to active celebration. Whether it’s a few friends on a sofa or hundreds in a hall, the watch party is becoming a ritual.

From The Traitors: Celebrity Edition to your favourite TV finale - watching together is the new ritual.

At a watch party, the screen is no longer background noise. It’s the heartbeat of the room. The content leads, and we follow - together, immersed in the magic.

This summer, we "Turned Pretty Good" thanks to weekly screenings of The Summer I Turned Pretty, and venues across the UK proved just how powerful this format can be. Now, the UK celebrated another show - and it deserved to be honoured properly, with real watch parties in real spaces.

We are thrilled for the fans. We are proud of the venues. And we are here to support and promote the movement of watch parties across the UK.

And if you’re like me, wishing there were watch parties in your local pub or venue - let’s change that. Let’s build the map together, so when the next show arrives, we will know exactly where to find the magic.

Let’s make it unforgettable. Let’s watch together.

#WatchPartiesUK #YearOfTheWatchParty #SharedViewing #CulturalConnection

The Celebrity Traitors watch party at Big Penny Social, London

The Summer I Turned Pretty finale watch party in Newcastle upon Tyne