A show composed of Peking Opera, Yu Opera, Yue Opera, Huangmei Opera and Cantonese Opera is performed at the Spring Festival gala on Lunar New Year's Eve, February 4, 2019. (Photo: China Plus)

New figures show around 1.17 billion people tuned into Monday's Spring Festival gala, 42 million more than last year.

239 domestic TV channels broadcast the liveshow. The show was also seen in 162 other countries and regions through cooperation agreements with 218 overseas partners. This year saw the use of ultra HD, 5G and VR for the first time to enhance the viewing experience.

Analysis shows the number of people who watched the gala through new media sources came in at 527 million, up 96 million compared to 2018.

The gala to help ring in the "Year of the Pig" is said to have been well received among viewers, with 97 percent of the comments left by viewers rated as positive.