Screw Thanksgiving, it’s Christmas.
Thursday as I walked the streets of Chicago getting ready for the Radio Hall of Fame ceremony there was a bit of a chill in the air. I couldn’t help but think Christmas is coming. And come it did…just 5 days later on November 4th during the 3pm hour when WLIT made the annual flip to all Christmas music.
But they weren’t the first, as the cavalcade began on Saturday before the Trick or Treaters could fall asleep from their sugar buzz. Christmas has become the greatest marketing campaign radio can no longer afford.
The numbers are staggering. In just the top 3 markets, the sum audience cume growth of the three iHeart Christmas stations was over 5 and a half million. This is the greatest marketing opportunity for every client and every station in the cluster.
The Christmas format draws families in a big way. All the children want to hear about Santa coming to their town. These stations gain P1’s of every format from CHR to Sports. If there ever was a time to add units, this is it. Not only for sales revenue, but for cluster growth when the tree comes down. Whether you’ve got a sports station running college basketball or an Ed Sheeran ticket giveaway on your CHR, use this massive cume on your Christmas station to let the world know. And, of course, endless hook and personality promos to preview what happens when the format returns to normal.
The Christmas format defies all conventional logic by playing songs THAT old. Of the first 10 Christmas songs played by WLIT, 8 were from 1970 or older. As classic hits stations try to add songs from the 2000’s and trash the 70’s, most of the biggest songs on Christmas stations are from the 50’s and 60’s.
I was lucky enough to work for Jerry Lee at WBEB in the mid-90’s. We tested everything, and yes, that included Christmas music. I was shocked that Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” crushed the then popular Michael Bolton version of the same song in 1995. I have probably seen a dozen true Christmas music tests since and the classics are the backbone of the format. Mariah Carey is the most notable exception as “All I Want For Christmas” is a perennial power. While Mariah may be the modern day Queen of Christmas, Michael Buble is King. Michael’s treatment of the songs everyone knows fits the format perfectly, but there’s not much else.
Which brings me to the stations that don’t own Santa in their markets. These are the stations that want to be second with half the audience of a station like WLTW.
When I programmed WNEW I totally ignored the music. We did all the “Christmas things”…for example, Karen Carson in the Morning gathered 10,000 Toys for those less fortunate, a promotion that took over the station for weeks. Granted, it’s New York and while it’s the season of giving, a good percentage of the 18 million people who live in the market do not celebrate Christmas and don’t want to hear the music but they do want to help kids. You can embrace the Holiday without playing the music with success.
Then there’s those that “sprinkle some Christmas songs in” but let’s think about that. If people want Christmas, they know who is playing it. They will go there when they want it. Nielsen says your P1’s listen in 10-minute occasions and you get 13 of those occasions a week if you’re lucky. You’re not really owning a Holiday feeling by playing one 3 minute Christmas song every hour. In fact, most of your audience won’t hear them.
You should make music decisions on the strength of the song. For most music stations, Mariah Carey is valid power gold in December. The same can be said for Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me”. Many in your audience wait to see her in “Wicked For Good”. In addition, every year there is usually a pop song that breaks through. The Jonas Brothers hope it’s theirs this year. Just like you would never play a bad song or a song that doesn’t fit your format in the heat of the summer, don’t do it in December.
What’s your Christmas strategy?
Joining Barrett Media
I am very excited to join Barrett Media as a weekly contributor. Jason has become the sports and news authority and I’m hoping I can help him reach the same status with music programmers. I’ve programmed music stations for over 4 decades. My experience includes station ownership in Portland, 12 years at America’s most listened to radio station, WLTW, oversight of all AC and Hot AC stations at Clear Channel as SVP/Programming and then 15 years at CBS turned Audacy.
I left day to day programming to become a consultant earlier this year. With my focus on talent coaching, I believe even in music radio that talent is the key to the success of radio going forward. If you have a question or comment on anything I write, please reach out. My email is Jim@JimRyanMedia.com. Thanks for reading!
Jim Ryan is a Music Radio columnist for Barrett Media. In addition, he runs Jim Ryan Media LLC, a consulting company which assists major market radio brands and top talent including national radio personality Delilah. Prior to relaunching his consultancy in 2025, Jim spent 15 years with Audacy/CBS Radio, serving as SVP of Programming. Among his responsibilities included programming WNEW-FM and WCBS-FM. His career includes additional programming stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston. Jim was voted the #2 PD of 2024 in Barrett Media’s Top 20 series in the AC category. He can be reached by email at Jim@JimRyanMedia.com.