Holiday Programming A Fun Time

Why It Matters: When routines shift, so do listening habits. During the holidays, your audience takes time off and their listening habits follow suit. January offers the perfect opportunity to reset, rebuild, and grow daily cume with DMR/Interactive.

Each year, audiences turn to Christmas music and take time off for the holidays. Then in January, they return to work, re-establish their daily rhythm, and rediscover their favorite stations (or do they)? That’s your moment – when employed heavy listeners are ready to engage again.

Whether or not your station flips to Christmas, January is the time to rebuild listening habits and drive daily cume – so your audience and ratings come back even stronger than before Mariah Carey took over the airwaves.

Start with Nielsen metrics, first-party station data, streaming insights, and DTS AutoStage to pinpoint audience flow and daypart opportunities. Then combine this intelligence with creative storytelling that reconnects emotionally.

Don’t just remind listeners who you are, remind them why you matter:
– companionship on the commute
– energy in the morning
– connection throughout the day.

Layer in high-impact contesting that taps into renewal – paying bills, offering a fresh start, or helping your audience “win” the new year. The goal isn’t reinvention; it’s relevance. Life can be exhausting – radio should feel effortless and fun, especially around the holidays.

As listening options proliferate and loyalty erodes, you can’t wait for your best listeners to find you after the holidays. They spend 95% of their lives away from the radio. Seize the moment before someone else does.

Stations that market with DMR/Interactive during this critical window win early and build momentum that lasts all year.

Stay top-of-mind. Win more occasions. Own the reset.

Go Deeper and understand where the surge in listening comes from and why it fades every year after the holidays. Check out the Magic and Myths of Christmas music.

On behalf of Catherine Jung, Tony Bannon, Jen Clayborn, Mike Landis, and everyone at DMR/Interactive, thank you for driving radio forward.

Onward,

Andrew Curran
President and CEO
DMR/Interactive