The first round of holiday PPMs are in and it was a good year for the stations that went all Christmas.
In the December 6 issue of The Pulse, I theorized that it would be a good year for holiday music due to the fatigue that the country was experiencing post-election.
I wrote, “After a highly contested election, if you lived in a battleground state as I do, all you saw were political mudslinging ads and car dealers willing to pay the bump rate. Christmas music is a breath of fresh air—a refreshing alternative.
The theory seems to have held water.
In New York, the December to Holiday jump for WLTW was up a huge 9.7-13.1
Los Angeles saw KOST also in double digits 8.3-12.4
Chicago was a double-digit win for WLIT 9.8-12.5
In Dallas/Ft. Worth KDGE jumped three full shares 7.1-10.1
KOIT in San Franciso jumped four shares from December 7.2-11.6
In Houston, KODA moved 11.1-14.7. In October and November, they were in the mid 7s.
WBEB in Philadelphia doubled from December 7.8-15.7.
I would expect these numbers to hold through the remaining PPM markets, answering the question of whether the all-Christmas music format played out.
You can dive deeper into each market on Barrett Media’s ratings page. Powered by Harker Bos Group.
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Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
