With four months to go until Christmas Day, Bauer Media has today launched pop-up station Magic 100% Christmas, dedicated to playing non-stop Christmas music to lift the spirits of the UK. Going live this morning at 9am, the new station is launching earlier this year following a survey which discovered that nearly a quarter of respondents agreed they will start planning for Christmas earlier than usual this year as they need something to look forward to.

With key insights into its audience showing that almost two thirds (65%) fear a second Coronavirus spike and over half (51%) are worried about not being able to see friends and family, Bauer Media has introduced the next step in its Magic Radio brand strategy with the new pop-up station.

They survey also found that more than 1 in 3 people (37%) said that they feel Christmassy and celebratory when they hear Christmas music and 70% of people agreed that Christmas and music go hand-in-hand. It was found that radio played an especially large role in the festivities – 91% of people stated that they listened to the radio over the festive season and 32% agreed that they felt festive when they heard Christmas music on the radio. This aligns with other Bauer Media research that found that radio consumption had increased during lockdown, as listeners turned to the medium for companionship, connection, escapism and entertainment.

Famed for its ability to bring listeners more of the songs they love, Magic 100% Christmas will bring the Christmas feeling forward a few months, playing non-stop Christmas tracks including; Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas’, Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’, Michael Bublé’s ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ and many more of the audience’s festive favourites.

Tony Moorey, Group Content Director, Magic Radio, said: “At Magic Radio we are constantly evolving our offerings and launching innovative new shows and stations to ensure that we reflect our audience’s needs. With listeners seeking cheer and fun during these challenging times and a strong understanding of how music and Christmas are interlinked, we knew that the next expansion of the Magic brand had to be around the joy of Christmas.”

Ronan Keating, Magic Radio Breakfast presenter, said: “2020 has been a hard year for us all – what better way to lift our spirits than bringing Christmas forward a few months? One of the most fulfilling parts of working at Magic Radio is to be able to connect with our listeners and bring a smile to their faces, so I can’t wait to launch Magic 100% Christmas and turn up the Christmas cheer!”

Magic 100% Christmas is available today from 9am till December 25th 2020, on smart speaker, online at Magic.co.uk/Christmas and on the Magic Radio app.