Thanksgiving used to be the All-Christmas demarcation line for radio. No Bing until the leftovers are in the fridge. But over the past decade, start dates for the flip have moved earlier and earlier. Now new research suggests listeners may be pushing back.
P1 Media Group’s America’s Top 100 Christmas Songs study surveyed 400 radio listeners ages 25-54 in the top 50 markets on November 1 and 2. Participants had to listen frequently or sometimes to an all-Christmas station and rate their enjoyment of Christmas music a 7 or higher on a 10-point scale.
Keeping in mind these are All-Christmas radio’s most faithful, only 18% of respondents prefer an early November start for all-Christmas programming, down from 23% in 2025 and 31% in 2024.
Fifty-six percent now prefer Thanksgiving or later, compared with 49% in 2025. Thanksgiving drew 28% (up from 23%), mid-November 26% (down from 28%), the beginning of December 25% (up from 18%), and mid-December 3% (down from 8%). At the other end of the season, 42% want all-Christmas programming to continue through New Year’s Eve, down from 48% in 2025 and 52% in 2024.
Another 33% prefer December 26, 20% favor Christmas Day, and 3% each chose December 27 or another date.
As for song preferences, the test list was the 100 most-played Christmas recordings on US radio during the 2025 holiday season, according to Mediabase.
Bobby Helms’ 1957 recording of “Jingle Bell Rock” ranks number one with an appeal score of 80.80 on a 100-point scale, and has held the top spot in nine of the past 10 years. José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” is second, followed by Andy Williams’ “Sleigh Ride,” Frank Sinatra’s “Jingle Bells,” and Bing Crosby’s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” Three versions of “Jingle Bell Rock” land in the top 10, with Brenda Lee at number six and Daryl Hall & John Oates at number seven. The Hall & Oates version earned the highest share of “Love” ratings among all 100 recordings at 59.66%.
The 100 recordings represent fewer than 60 unique songs.
Five versions each of “Frosty the Snowman” and “Sleigh Ride” made the list, and four versions each of “Carol of the Bells,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” and “Winter Wonderland” appear. Those nine standards account for 38% of the list.
Bing Crosby, Gene Autry, Amy Grant, and Andy Williams are the most represented artists with four recordings each. Thirty-four recordings scored 75 or higher and 87 scored 70 or higher.
P1 Media Group Founder and Partner Ken Benson said, “Christmas music continues to be one of radio’s most powerful audience magnets. The Nielsen ratings demonstrate its extraordinary ability to attract listeners, but our research also reveals an important shift. While Americans still love their Christmas classics, they’re becoming more selective about when they want the holiday season to begin.”
“Successful Christmas programming isn’t just about playing the right songs. It’s about understanding your audience, knowing when they’re ready for the season to begin, and delivering the right mix of familiar favorites and contemporary hits. Christmas music remains one of radio’s greatest programming opportunities, but timing and execution matter.”
