Magic 96.5 and Easy 97.3 are "duking" it out with the Christmas fare. Not a surprise that both of them started at the same time, lol. Interestingly enough...looking over the response from listeners on both stations' Facebook pages, most of the Magic 96.5 camp is excited about the Christmas music, while the Easy 97.3 listeners are none too happy, for the most part.
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Santa has arrived...
- Thread starter passtheword
- Start date
R
Rrrrzzzz419
Guest
I thought Easy 97.3 Launched so Birmingham would have a AC station that didn't flip Christmas music, just like Star 99.1 does in Huntsville.
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Groove1670
Guest
We did think about starting Christmas music in June. 
Last I heard, WMJJ and WEZZ were the 2nd and 3rd stations to do all Christmas music, following WEZW. AFAIK, those are the only three all-Christmas stations thus far.
Can these big companies wait til Nov. 28th?
What's the point starting it in late October? This is retarded
What's the point starting it in late October? This is retarded
They wouldn't do it if the ratings didn't show some sort of benefit. What really grinds my gears though is in a market like Birmingham, why the need for two to flip on the same day? Someone should be able to continue providing the AC format or equivalent for those disaffected by the holiday music.
Down here on the coast, we lose both our AC stations (Lite Mix in Mobile goes first, followed by Soft Rock 94.1 in Pensacola a few days later, like clockwork.) That's just so unnecessary. And DXing, doesn't help. Biloxi's Magic 93.7 usually follows quickly, and I think a station in Fort Walton Beach does as well, pretty much eliminating the format for 200 miles of coastal listeners.
I don't listen to AC, but I appreciate the situation. I wish someone would buck the trend and pick up the scraps. Might serve them well in the longer run.
Question is...With both stations "splitting the pie" doing Christmas music, will they really reap anything meaningful from it? I was joking Thursday with someone on Facebook about both Magic 96.5 and Easy 97.3 going all-Christmas immediately so they could send some of their listeners my way, lol. Next day...it really happens. :O This is what I don't get...Easy 97.3 intentionally waited last year for Magic 96.5 to go all Christmas, so they could unveil "Easy 97.3" at just the right time and steal away the 96.5 listeners who didn't want to hear the Christmas fare. You'd think that Summit Media would know then that those same listeners they siphoned off from Magic last year were not going to be happy when Easy 97.3 went all Christmas...because that was the very thing those listeners were trying to avoid the year before (some of the listeners on Easy 97.3's facebook page have made mention of this fact).
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That's a valid point. I bet both stations benefit less than they might have if only one had made the jump. I really don't understand Easy's decision. Being the alternative to the Christmas madness was their raison d'être after the flip.
Frankly, I hope your online station does gangbusters because of this. Radio people need to wake up to the fact that the majority of people today consider a much broader scope of choice when it comes to music radio these days. Give them a reason to leave and they might just find a reason never to come back. That's kind of what happened to me down here on the coast. Our local stations can be so poorly run and poorly programmed that I realized I was better off not even bothering to give them another chance anymore. And that applies to the outliers who have gotten stale: ZEW is never playing new music when I tune in; even community stations like WHEP tick me off because every time I turn it on it's either swap shop, Paul Finebaum or dollar-a-holler. Birmingham is just as bad. The dial's a mile wide and an inch deep, with the possible exception of BMR.
I realize I'm more intense in my feelings here because of my radio nerd history, but I can't imagine the general population is that far behind. Especially the under 30 crowd. They've basically grown up with radio being "one of many" choices.
Thanks, Zach. I appreciate it. In the last couple of days, I've picked up a few of the Magic 96.5 and Easy 97.3 refugees, mostly from 97.3 since their listeners are more vocal and incensed about the switch to Christmas...and of course, formatically, my station is more aligned with Easy 97.3's format than Magic's. I guess these corporate group owners don't care about which listeners they run off, since most of the radio stations are co-owned together now, so if some of Magic's or Easy's listeners bail, they'll just switch to another one of the other stations, which could very well be owned by Iheart Media or Summit Media, anyway. Then, after Christmas, the listeners return back to their seats from playing "musical chairs" with whatever station they were formerly listening to prior to the Christmas fare and "all is well" again. Given this fiasco, though, with both stations starting Christmas music two months in advance of the holiday and the listeners' (mostly) negative response to it, I wouldn't be surprised if there will be repercussions for Easy 97.3 and Magic 96.5 this time for all this foolishness.
Thanks, Dan! Praying for you with WPJB. Let us know how the station is coming along.
Here's where I stand with WPJB-LP
1. The money donations are picking up. Have two new people fixing to donate some. One is going to have a fundraiser for me, in the Meridian Mississippi area and the other will give theirs in January. Also getting some musical donations, with even more coming, for my growing library. (Mostly Southern Gospel CD's, that I plan on playing, during the times I have blocked for that musical style!)
2. May get a free CD storage unit, from someone at my Church. Me and this person are in talks about it.
3. Trying now to secure some free broadcasting equipment. Have some contacts working on that.
4. Have a good bit of money in the bank. Plan on adding more, within the next few weeks.
5. Working on getting a web presence in existence.
6. Have a free stash of insulation, for the studio building, already in place. Will claim that donation, once I begin the building phase.
7. Some of my potential underwriters, are now helping me raise the money and obtain items needed for the building phase.
8. ...And yes, I'm passing out ads, I created, to help with my fundraising efforts.
Dan <><
P.S. Now back to the original subject, already in progress.
1. The money donations are picking up. Have two new people fixing to donate some. One is going to have a fundraiser for me, in the Meridian Mississippi area and the other will give theirs in January. Also getting some musical donations, with even more coming, for my growing library. (Mostly Southern Gospel CD's, that I plan on playing, during the times I have blocked for that musical style!)
2. May get a free CD storage unit, from someone at my Church. Me and this person are in talks about it.
3. Trying now to secure some free broadcasting equipment. Have some contacts working on that.
4. Have a good bit of money in the bank. Plan on adding more, within the next few weeks.
5. Working on getting a web presence in existence.
6. Have a free stash of insulation, for the studio building, already in place. Will claim that donation, once I begin the building phase.
7. Some of my potential underwriters, are now helping me raise the money and obtain items needed for the building phase.
8. ...And yes, I'm passing out ads, I created, to help with my fundraising efforts.
Dan <><
P.S. Now back to the original subject, already in progress.
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M
Music Lover
Guest
Agreed. Wayyyyy too early.
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Groove1670
Guest
The other side of the coin.....Christmas music = format change. However, none of the above apply, usually one or two stations in the state do a flip every year. Anyone care to guess who they might be.
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Mario500
Guest
WMXC-FM in Mobile started broadcasting Christmastime music on a regular basis yesterday.
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