If you had asked me a year ago, I would have told you the best time to go All-Christimas music would be directly after Thanksgiving. That is, after all, the traditional start of the Christmas season despite the fact that store displays go All-Christmas directly after Halloween nowadays.
But now I’m beginning to wonder.
As I visit relatives and drive around town I see more than a trace of holiday decorations up and going up. That’s not in stores, folks, that’s in homes. Needless to say, if homeowners feel the Christmas spirit then perhaps radio listeners will likewise.
It may, in other words, not be a bad idea to move sooner rather than later – not because you’re afraid a competitior will jump in first, but because the appetite is actually there.
Here’s more food for thought:
Once you can argue for a two-month Christmas format it’s a short step to arguing for a twelve-month one.
Will we, in the not too distant future, see year-round Christmas stations? That is, stations that put us in that Christmas spirit no matter what the calendar says?
I wouldn’t be at all surprised.