I do not know if you have experienced this or not, but here in Jacksonville, North Carolina, we have had two stations that have gone from their normal format to 24 hour Christmas music through the holidays. It seems to be a growing trend!
In fact, there are approximately 399 stations in the U.S. that have temporarily changed their formats and are playing Christmas music constantly. Portland, Oregon has two stations, but some cities – I am assuming cities like New York or Los Angeles – have as many as five stations doing this. Most stations begin their “new” broadcasting the day after Thanksgiving and continue through New Year’s Day.
It seems that Americans just cannot get enough of Christmas music during the holidays. I know that for me personally, even though I have tons of Christmas CDs and an iPod filled with Christmas music, I usually tune into one of the two stations when I am driving around town just to put me in the holiday mood. The stations and advertisers are thrilled because they get more listeners – listeners who are just itching to buy things this time of year. In fact, one Portland station, WHOM, said they get 38% more listeners when playing their holiday music. A Milwaukee station, WMYX-FM, said they get 50% more listeners. Even in a diverse city like New York, stations are reporting growth of up to 25%.
What type of holiday music are the stations playing? It seems to be a mixture of the old and the new. People still get the warm fuzzies from hearing classics like Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” but they also love hearing holiday music from contemporary artists such as Jessica Simpson, Barenaked Ladies, and Bruce Springsteen. Even Twisted Sister has released a Christmas album this year (I know because my hubby bought it!).
While some people despise hearing the same old holiday music over and over (even with so many artists, there are only so many Christmas songs), it seems that most love it.
What is the most requested song? Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
What do you think? Do you have one of these stations near you?
Related Blogs:
Our Christmas Tree is Up!
The Benefits of Christmas Music