In our search for Christmas radio stations this year, we found just one – Citybeat Christmas – broadcasting on Citybeat’s DAB slot in Northern Ireland.
The station started yesterday (December 1st) and features non-stop Christmas songs along with some Citybeat presenters, along with imaging by Devaweb.
The DAB station will revert back to Citybeat’s main service on 27th December.
Citybeat’s Managing Director Brian Commins told RadioToday: “This is a very exciting time for us, we has had a fantastic year with record audience numbers and we want to say thanks this festive season by providing the soundtrack to your Christmas celebrations whilst introducing many new listeners to Citybeat via a targeted seasonal channel.”
A rumoured Magic Christmas station never made it to air, and Smooth Radio’s Christmas station, which has operated for the last two years, is absent this year.
Mobile App TuneIn tells us the top three most popular Christmas radio stations people listened to last year in the UK via their service was:
- Radio Station Claus, Helsinki, Finland
- Christmas Radio Unwrapped, Houston, Texas
- 1.FM – Always Christmas, Zug, Switzerland
Meanwhile in Ireland, the Broadcasting Authority Ireland has allowed a temporary FM licence for a Christmas station once again this year to cover most of the Republic. Christmas FM is operating in Dublin City and County on 94.3FM, Dublin Commuter Belt on 88.1FM, Limerick on 105.5FM, Galway on 89.5FM, Cork on 106.7FM, Wexford on 103.8FM, North Midlands on 99.4FM, North East on 101.6FM and North Wicklow on 99.5FM.
