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Could Friday (November 19th) Be The Big Day For Christmas Flips??

J

Joseph_Gallant

Guest
Partly because of a perception that broadcasters wanted to be first in their markets to flip to all-Christmas formats, some advertisers wanting to run Holiday-oriented spots on such stations, and partly because of worries of retailers (music-formatted radio's top ad category) that high energy costs were going to result in the worst Christmas shopping season in years (in which revenues, even before being adjusted for inflation, go down), I fully expected a lot of stations to flip to all-Christmas much earlier this year than in the past. I fully expected numerous flips on or just after November 1st.

But according to the 100000 Watts.com list of stations that have gone all-Christmas, 45 stations had done so as of this evening (November 16th) at 5 P.M. EST, up from 33 stations two days earlier.

The most notable of the most recent flips are of both WLTE-102.9 and KQQL-107.9, both in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Although KQQL is A Clear Channel Property (the company most agressive about programming all-Christmas formats), it is an oldies station, and not AC, unlike most stations that go all-Christmas (Another of the relatively-few oldies stations that has gone all-Christmas in recent years if Infinity's WODS-103.3 here in Boston; it's being speculated on the Boston board that WODS may take the plunge by Friday). WLTE is a Soft AC station, owned by Infinity.

This Friday (November 18th) will be the Friday before Thanksgiving, which last year was a popular date for stations making the flip. It's possible that the number of all-Christmas stations could triple or even quadruple by the end of Friday (perhaps up to a total of between 135 and 180 stations, maybe even more, up from 45 on Wednesday evening).

I'm not in the mood to hear any Christmas music on the radio until December 1st. And I'd only be in the mood to listen to a little of it until right around Christmas (sure, if I were to host a Christmas party, I would bring CD's to play continuous Christmas music during the party; but nonstop Christmas music on the radio prior to Christmas Eve turns me off!

Ironically, my girlfriend's cat loves Christmas music (he loves everything to do with that holiday), and I think he's the only one I know who could tolerate listening to all-Christmas music all day on the radio for a month.

(I'd prefer that a station not play any Christmas music until December 1st; then play one Christmas song every third hour from December 1st-10th; play one Christmas song every other hours from December 11th-17th; one Christmas song an hour from December 18th until 12 Noon Christmas Eve; and then go all-Christmas only for 36 hours, from 12 Noon December 24th until 12 Midnight December 25th)

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Joseph_Gallant on 11/17/05 03:08 AM.</FONT></P>
 
Friday will likely be a day we see quite a few flips. Also Thanksgiving weekend, we'll see more flips. I like to hear holiday music beginning Thanksgiving Weekend. I like all Christmas stations, even in late November, but I like stations that mix in holiday tunes with regular music.


> Partly because of a perception that broadcasters wanted to
> be first in their markets to flip to all-Christmas formats,
> some advertisers wanting to run Holiday-oriented spots on
> such stations, and partly because of worries of retailers
> (music-formatted radio's top ad category) that high energy
> costs were going to result in the worst Christmas shopping
> season in years (in which revenues, even before being
> adjusted for inflation, go down), I fully expected a lot of
> stations to flip to all-Christmas much earlier this year
> than in the past. I fully expected numerous flips on or just
> after November 1st.
>
> But according to the 100000 Watts.com list of stations that
> have gone all-Christmas, 33 stations have done so at the
> most recent update (Monday, November 14th, 5 P.M. EST) prior
> to my writing this message (1 P.M. EST November 16th).
>
> Since then, there has been at least one notable flip to
> all-Christmas: WLTE-102.9 in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
>
> This Friday (November 18th) will be the Friday before
> Thanksgiving, which last year was a popular date for
> stations making the flip. It's possible the list, which
> might move up to around 40-45 stations by tomorrow could
> quadruple on Friday (perhaps up to 160-180 stations or even
> more).
>
> I'm not in the mood to hear any Christmas music on the radio
> until December 1st. And I'd only be in the mood to listen to
> a little of it until right around Christmas (sure, if I were
> to host a Christmas party, I would bring CD's to play
> continuous Christmas music during the party; but nonstop
> Christmas music on the radio prior to Christmas Eve turns me
> off!
>
> Ironically, my girlfriend's cat loves Christmas music (he
> loves everything to do with that holiday), and I think he's
> the only one I know who could tolerate listening to
> all-Christmas music all day on the radio for a month.
>
> (I'd prefer that a station not play any Christmas music
> until December 1st; then play one Christmas song every third
> hour from December 1st-10th; play one Christmas song every
> other hours from December 11th-17th; one Christmas song an
> hour from December 18th until 12 Noon Christmas Eve; and
> then go all-Christmas only for 36 hours, from 12 Noon
> December 24th until 12 Midnight December 25th)
>
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> Partly because of a perception that broadcasters wanted to
> be first in their markets to flip to all-Christmas formats,
> some advertisers wanting to run Holiday-oriented spots on
> such stations, and partly because of worries of retailers
> (music-formatted radio's top ad category) that high energy
> costs were going to result in the worst Christmas shopping
> season in years (in which revenues, even before being
> adjusted for inflation, go down), I fully expected a lot of
> stations to flip to all-Christmas much earlier this year
> than in the past. I fully expected numerous flips on or just
> after November 1st.
>
> But according to the 100000 Watts.com list of stations that
> have gone all-Christmas, 45 stations had done so as of this
> evening (November 16th) at 5 P.M. EST, up from 33 stations
> two days earlier.
>
> The most notable of the most recent flips are of both
> WLTE-102.9 and KQQL-107.9, both in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
> Although KQQL is A Clear Channel Property (the company most
> agressive about programming all-Christmas formats), it is an
> oldies station, and not AC, unlike most stations that go
> all-Christmas (Another of the relatively-few oldies stations
> that has gone all-Christmas in recent years if Infinity's
> WODS-103.3 here in Boston; it's being speculated on the
> Boston board that WODS may take the plunge by Friday). WLTE
> is a Soft AC station, owned by Infinity.
>
> This Friday (November 18th) will be the Friday before
> Thanksgiving, which last year was a popular date for
> stations making the flip. It's possible that the number of
> all-Christmas stations could triple or even quadruple by the
> end of Friday (perhaps up to a total of between 135 and 180
> stations, maybe even more, up from 45 on Wednesday evening).
>
>
> I'm not in the mood to hear any Christmas music on the radio
> until December 1st. And I'd only be in the mood to listen to
> a little of it until right around Christmas (sure, if I were
> to host a Christmas party, I would bring CD's to play
> continuous Christmas music during the party; but nonstop
> Christmas music on the radio prior to Christmas Eve turns me
> off!
>
> Ironically, my girlfriend's cat loves Christmas music (he
> loves everything to do with that holiday), and I think he's
> the only one I know who could tolerate listening to
> all-Christmas music all day on the radio for a month.
>
> (I'd prefer that a station not play any Christmas music
> until December 1st; then play one Christmas song every third
> hour from December 1st-10th; play one Christmas song every
> other hours from December 11th-17th; one Christmas song an
> hour from December 18th until 12 Noon Christmas Eve; and
> then go all-Christmas only for 36 hours, from 12 Noon
> December 24th until 12 Midnight December 25th)
>

Why do you ask questions you already know the answer to?
 
I'm asking for what you think.

Maybe someone even has "inside information" they can share with radio-Info.com readers!
 
Major Flip

As you posted on the New York City board Joseph, you said 106.7 Lite FM went all Christmas. I tuned my radio to 106.7 and sure enough, I heard the holiday tunes. To answer the question you asked on the NYC board, yes, this is the first time Lite FM has gone all Christmas the weekend before Thanksgiving. Last year, they went all Christmas on Thanksgiving Eve (Wednesday).

On the subject of Thanksgiving Weekend, what will you be up to this weekend Joseph? Spending time with family or friends, or will you be on the computer?
 
Its already happened in Seattle at KWRM(Warm 106.9) today(November 18th).
 
You can add KLTI (Lite 104 in Des Moines) to the list. They made the switch sometime over the weekend.

> Partly because of a perception that broadcasters wanted to
> be first in their markets to flip to all-Christmas formats,
> some advertisers wanting to run Holiday-oriented spots on
> such stations, and partly because of worries of retailers
> (music-formatted radio's top ad category) that high energy
> costs were going to result in the worst Christmas shopping
> season in years (in which revenues, even before being
> adjusted for inflation, go down), I fully expected a lot of
> stations to flip to all-Christmas much earlier this year
> than in the past. I fully expected numerous flips on or just
> after November 1st.
>
>
>
 
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