• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

A Country Music Version Of The All-Christmas Format?

J

Joseph_Gallant

Over the past two decades, one of the hottest trends in radio has been the all-Christmas format, in which radio stations temporarily suspend regular programming for several weeks during the Holiday Season to play continuous Christmas music.

Usually, it's the Adult Contemporary format where stations go all-Christmas, since it's the most compatible format to the all-Christmas format in terms of both programming and normal target audience as well.

A handful of classic hits stations also go all-Christmas, but stations usually programming formats other than AC or classic hits that flip to Holiday music generally do so as a stunt, with a new format to be unveiled after Christmas.

But I'm wondering: Could stations that normally program Country music decide to switch to a variation of the all-Christmas format that is nothing but Christmas songs performed by Country artists past and present?

For some country stations, this might work, but only if no other station owned by the country station's owner in that market does so.

As an example, let's take the case of I-Heart. This wouldn't work in Chicago (where they own country-formatted WCHI-95.5 and AC WLIT-93.9, since the latter goes all-Christmas each year). But here in Boston, WBWL-101.7 could try a Country version of the all-Christmas format as no other I-Heart station in Boston programs 24/7 Christmas music during the Holiday season.

(Interestingly enough, I-Heart has a 24/7 Country all-Christmas stream accessible from the company's website, so it's not like someone isn't doing it; only that they're not doing it over the air).
 
Last edited:
Joseph_Gallant said:
Over the past two decades, one of the hottest trends in radio has been the all-Christmas format, in which radio stations temporarily suspend regular programming for several weeks during the Holiday Season to play continuous Christmas music.

Usually, it's the Adult Contemporary format where stations go all-Christmas, since it's the most compatible format to the all-Christmas format in terms of both programming and normal target audience as well.

A handful of classic hits stations also go all-Christmas, but stations usually programming formats other than AC or classic hits that flip to Holiday music generally do so as a stunt, with a new format to be unveiled after Christmas.

But I'm wondering: Could stations that normally program Country music decide to switch to a variation of the all-Christmas format that is nothing but Christmas songs performed by Country artists past and present?

For some country stations, this might work, but only if no other station owned by the country station's owner in that market does so.

As an example, let's take the case of I-Heart. This wouldn't work in Chicago (where they own country-formatted WCHI-95.5 and AC WLIT-93.9, since the latter goes all-Christmas each year). But here in Boston, WBWL-101.7 could try a Country version of the all-Christmas format as no other I-Heart station in Boston programs 24/7 Christmas music during the Holiday season.

(Interestingly enough, I-Heart has a 24/7 Country all-Christmas stream accessible from the company's website, so it's not like someone isn't doing it; only that they're not doing it over the air).
Click to expand...
They could. SiriusXM has Country Christmas streams. How well it would work and for how long I have no idea.
 
It has been tried. But for some reason, it doesn't seem to work. Kansas City has three Country stations and I remember one giving it a try about 10 years ago. It was mostly country but with a few general Christmas songs per hour. The ratings weren't good, lower than the Country format. The next year, it didn't try it again.

Country stations always see a dip in the ratings around Christmas time because many Country listeners switch to the station running the all-Christmas format. But it's just something Country stations have to deal with for the six weeks the Christmas format airs on a competitor.

The remarkable fact is, no matter whether a station is AC, Hot AC, Soft AC or Classic Hits, when they switch to Christmas music between November and December, they all pretty much follow the same playlist. If you think the Hot AC stations will play more uptempo Christmas songs and avoid the older titles, no that's not true. If you think the Classic Hits stations will concentrate on Phil Spector and Beach Boys and Motown, no that's not true either. The playlists are all the same, regardless of what the station's format is the rest of the year.
 
Joseph_Gallant said:
But I'm wondering: Could stations that normally program Country music decide to switch to a variation of the all-Christmas format that is nothing but Christmas songs performed by Country artists past and present?
Click to expand...

KKGO in Los Angeles has been flipping to Christmas regularly for at least 6 years. Here's an interview with the PD:

www.allaccess.com

KKGO/Los Angeles: A Christmas Story by R.J. Curtis

Mt. Wilson Broadcasters Country KKGO/Los Angeles flipped the holiday switch today (11/15), going all Christmas and going all in, with a wide, mass appeal playlist stretching far beyond its usual Country format. In doing so, KKGO is basically taking on the abominable snowman when it comes to...
www.allaccess.com www.allaccess.com

They don't restrict it to just country artists, and the PD explains why.
 
People seem pretty set in their ways when it comes to Christmas music. I think if a single station in the market flipped to the traditional Christmas format then Country Christmas wouldn't be viable.
 
When WDRQ in Detroit flipped from Variety Hits, they kicked off the new format with a period of Country Christmas music. It was, shall we say, an underwhelming debut. They now stick to their normal format during the holidays but also play some of the mass-appeal pop Christmas music like "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and "Do They Know It's Christmas".
Last year, 94.1 Duke FM in the Lansing market, a Throwback Country station, went all-Christmas around Thanksgiving - not Country Christmas, but the same mix you hear on the typical AC all-Christmas station, Mariah Carey and all. The station's signal also reaches the Battle Creek market and rimshots Kalamazoo, where the Christmas music franchise was dropped by their sister station when it dropped AC for Jack FM, and I guess that was an attempt to fill the void in part and provide some competition for Grand Rapids' Star 105.7, which had been the default Christmas station for K'zoo/BC. I guess listeners complained (I know I did), because shortly afterward the station tweaked the playlist to be about 75% country while still maintaining some of the mainstream pop crowd pleasers. Not sure if they'll do that again this year.
 
Last edited:
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.
Back
Top Bottom