I will say, though, that I'm not sure it's always a great idea for individual schools. If the school is a candidate's first choice then it does work out well for everyone [even the competing schools, because it's better to find out earlier than later that a candidate has taken another job], but if the school is a second or third choice, the candidate has to weigh taking that job over the possibility of getting a more suitable job. That happens anyway, of course, but at least with interviews that happen in January instead of December candidates have more of an idea of where they stand with other schools and can make a more informed decision. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in years to come!