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At the beginning of November 2017, radio station WLIT-FM 93.9 was around the 14th most popular in Chicago. Then it flipped the Christmas music switch and rocketed to No. 1.
It’s the holiday music juggernaut: more popular than classic rock, news radio and even sports talk from Thankgiving to New Year’s. The pattern repeats year after year — for 17 consecutive years and counting. Weekly rankings going back to 2009 show WLIT has ruled Chicago holiday airwaves.
A recent study by Nielsen, which measures TV and radio ratings, shows the popularity of Christmas music spans generations and geography. Nearly 500 stations across the country turn all-Christmas during the holidays, according to Nielsen.
And even though WLIT has shifted its start of going all holiday, from as early as Nov. 2 in 2006 and 2007 to as late as Nov. 23 in 2001, the audience tends to arrive around Thanksgiving, according to Nielsen. Chicago rankings from last year show the station had an 8.5 percent audience share and a cumulative weekly audience of almost 2.4 million from Nov. 9 to Dec. 6, 2017, as reported by media columnist Robert Feder.
Ratings rank is weekly.
WLIT-FM 93.9’s rank during holidays
- Christmas music begins
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
Age of holiday music fans
Nielsen measured holiday music fans nationally — those who streamed, downloaded and listened to the radio — in its Music 360 report and found millennials to be the largest age group.
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Younger than 18:
8%
18 to 24 years old:
11%
25 to 34 years old:
26%
35 to 44 years old:
16%
45 to 54 years old:
14%
55 to 64 years old:
10%
65 and older:
15%
Most frequently played songsIn 2016, nationally
| Song | Artist | 2016 spins | Year made |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Feliz Navidad” | Jose Feliciano | 35,223 | 1970 |
| “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” | Brenda Lee | 33,342 | 1962 |
| “A Holly Jolly Christmas” | Burl Ives | 32,629 | 1965 |
| “Jingle Bell Rock” | Bobby Helms | 32,245 | 1962 |
| “All I Want For Christmas” | Mariah Carey | 31,377 | 1994 |
| “The Christmas Song” | Nat King Cole | 29,772 | 1949 |
| “Christmas Eve Sarajevo” | Trans-Siberian Orchestra | 28,293 | 1995 |
| “It’s the Most Wonderful Time” | Andy Williams | 27,086 | 1963 |
| “White Christmas” | Bing Crosby | 24,113 | 1944 |
| “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas” | Johnny Mathis | 23,911 | 1986 |
Twitter @ChiTribGraphics
Sources: Nielsen, WLIT-FM 93.9, All-Access Music Group, baiduhai reporting
//graphics.chicagotribune.com/holiday-radio-ratings/js/app.min.js
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