Have you ever wondered when the best time to start playing Christmas songs on the radio is? It varies from place to place and even depending upon radio station format but there are a few general rules about scheduling Christmas music into your radio station playlist. Read on to find the most popular times to start playing Christmas music on a radio station.
When Do Radio Stations Start Christmas Music?
In the USA it’s generally accepted that the real Christmas countdown begins the day after Thanksgiving and radio stations will begin to playlist Xmas tunes to get listeners into the festive spirit. Some start as early as the day after Halloween!
Most UK based radio stations start on 1st December although there is an unwritten contest between UK radio stations to be the first to play a Christmas track and over the years we tend to hear some tunes creeping in before that.
Christmas Radio Stations
There are radio stations that play Christmas music all year round and others that take full advantage of the time of year to create a Christmas themed radio station.
- Christmas FM – Based in Dublin, Ireland this radio station broadcasts at Christmas.
- Forever Christmas Radio – An interactive year round Christmas radio station that appears to be very active on Twitter and Facebook.
- North Pole Radio – A year round internet radio station playing Christmas songs.
There are also many worthy charitable causes and community radio stations that apply for licenses to broadcast on FM in the countdown to Christmas.
Christmas Countdown
Certainly it seems that late November/early December is where the consensus of opinion lies in playing Christmas tunes on the radio. Perhaps it’s different if you’re a DJ? Supermarkets start to push Christmas the day after Halloween (if not before).
Christmas Jingles
Do you add Christmas sparkle to your radio imaging? When do you start playing Christmas jingles? Let us know in the comments! If you are looking for great sounding Christmas audio to play on your radio check our Christmas themed instant downloads.
SShould be about now I think…
True, the last week in November is a popular time for many radio stations to start playing Christmas themed music!
I think so also
I looked forward to listening to Christmas music November 1. I am so disappointed. My favorite time of the year. But the riches win.
Here in St. Louis, Missouri, Fresh 102.5 KEZK and 103.3 which are both the Christmas stating during the Christmas season in St. Louis, start playing Christmas music around Nov. 15, which I enjoy!!!
That sounds like a great lead to Christmas 🙂 we need enough time to enjoy it!
I love Christmas music
We love it too 🙂
I think they should wait till Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to play Christmas music.
Valid point but then we wouldn’t have enough time to enjoy it!
I don’t, it annoys my mom so much, and it’s fun to see her get so mad when we put it on before Black Friday.
I’ve been waiting for the Christmas music to start I thought it started November 1
I think they should play christmas music beginning Monday of Black Friday. It brightens most peoples spirits
Love it and couldn’t agree more 🙂 especially after we drop half of our wages at Black Friday sales – we will need some cheering up afterwards 😀
In the Netherlands it is after the 5th of December. On the 5th of December we celebrate Sinterklaas (the origin of the American Santa Claus). So before that no Christmas music.
I love that! In Poland it’s similar but 6th December (which is called “Mikolajki”) that’s when children usually send their letters to Santa and Christmas madness begins on media too!
Christmas-themed radio jingles typically start playing in late November or early December. In the days before Christmas break begins, it gets increasingly frequent.
Wow, glad I checked the date on this post. It’s November 1, 2023 and some stations started playing Xmas music today!