Let’s go commercial free 4th of July weekend. While you’re at it, do the same for Labor Day weekend. The programmers may be cheering. The other side of the building — from the new AE to the Chief Revenue Officer — is saying that Ryan guy is an idiot.
Let me take you back in time. My first radio memory as a kid was a trip to the beach on a holiday weekend. Literally everyone had their radio on WABC. You heard the same song from one end of the beach to the other. On air, Dan Ingram would tell everyone to “roll their bod” so the beach tanners on their blankets would get the perfect even tan.
Go to the beach today, it’s all personal playlists. I like to tell young programmers I’m so old, I remember when radio listening actually went up on the weekend and holidays. Now, for many stations, it’s dismal. Why not make a serious attempt to go back in time and help get some people back to radio on a holiday weekend? If you can’t clear the spots from the entire weekend, how about at least the entire afternoon? Commercial-free beach afternoons would sound awesome.
July 4th weekend and Labor Day weekend fall on the first weekend of the month, when the spot load is light already. I’d bet that if your traffic person told you the revenue number for that first Saturday, you would be embarrassed anyway.
Live Talent and Listener Interaction Can Save Your Holiday Weekend
If you want to make that commercial-free afternoon even better, ask your best talent to go on the air and do the shift live. Add some listener interaction with phone calls, app messages, and talent reading texts, and you’ve given your audience a reason to listen. Don’t forget to promote it every hour each weekday leading up to the weekend.
If your audience has abandoned your station on holiday weekends, it may be because you’re getting back what you put in. Is your commercial log a bunch of low dough and bonus spots? Did your talent cut tracks for a Monday holiday on the Friday before the weekend? Is your weekend programming just songs, sweepers, and spots?
I Was Guilty of This Too. Don’t Repeat My Mistakes.
Let me be the first to admit that I was guilty on all charges when I programmed day to day after COVID. My weekend talent never came back to the studio after 2020. As a programmer, I was conditioned to look at share of audience — which was fine — while average quarter-hour persons declined. Don’t let my failure deter you from doing the right thing. Weekends are special for your audience. Make them special on your radio station.
When you get your Nielsen numbers for the period that included Memorial Day, compare the AQH persons from that day to the Thursday that started the Nielsen week. If the AQH numbers were 30% lower or more on Memorial Day, I suggest a meeting with your sales manager before the 4th gets here.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
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.
