The Race To Launch All-Christmas Formats This Year Might Become Juvenile

[Joseph_Gallant]

In recent years, in markets where more than one station has gone all-Christmas, there has often been a "race" to see which station would be first to go all-Christmas. In markets with multiple all-Christmas outlets, the first station to flip usually doesn't have more than a few hours (and most recently, no more than a few minutes) as the only all-Christmas station in the market.

Frankly, I think it's juvenile.

But I can even see it become more juvenile this year.

I personally think that although it's way too soon, I strongly believe that about 100 stations will go all-Christmas next Tuesday (November 1st), and in virtually all markets that get multiple all-Christmas stations, a second flip will be within minutes of the first.

By combining "monitoring of the competition" and contemporary technology (read: hard drives), any station's advantage as being first to flip may last no more than five or ten minutes, perhaps even less.

I wouldn't be too surprised if most stations that go all-Christmas have already produced (with either an imaging voice of one of the station's personalities) an introduction to the all-Christmas programming consisting of the imaging person or local personality saying "You've waited long enough! (Name of Station or Call Letters) is proud to present the 2005 (whatever title the station's all-Christmas format will have; or the phrase "Nonstop Holiday music through December 25th")", followed by the first Christmas song.

I even think a few stations even have two versions of this introduction about to be (if not already) loaded into their hard-drives: Version #1 as outlined in the previous paragraph, and Version #2, which begins with the sound effect of a record scratching followed by the same content as in Version #1.

Why would a station put together the "Version #2" I outlined above?? If they're beaten "to the punch" in launching an all-Christmas format, the PD (assuming this is during work hours) hears the rival station going all-Christmas, then comes down the hall, into the air studio, and orders the announcer-on-duty to interrupt the song in progress to go all-Christmas.

Yes, I feel this is extremely juvenile! But I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few stations out there (read: WBEB-101.1 and WSNI-104.5, both in Philadelphia) that indeed have the pre-produced transition to all-Christmas starting with the sound effect of a record being scratched so that they can interrupt a record in-progress to make the flip, and as a result, any advantage their competitor may have by going all-Christmas might last no more than a couple of minutes.

 

[JeremyAndrews]

> In recent years, in markets where more than one station has
> gone all-Christmas, there has often been a "race" to see
> which station would be first to go all-Christmas. In markets
> with multiple all-Christmas outlets, the first station to
> flip usually doesn't have more than a few hours (and most
> recently, no more than a few minutes) as the only
> all-Christmas station in the market.
>
> Frankly, I think it's juvenile.
>
> But I can even see it become more juvenile this year.
>
> I personally think that although it's way too soon, I
> strongly believe that about 100 stations will go
> all-Christmas next Tuesday (November 1st), and in virtually
> all markets that get multiple all-Christmas stations, a
> second flip will be within minutes of the first.
>
> By combining "monitoring of the competition" and
> contemporary technology (read: hard drives), any station's
> advantage as being first to flip may last no more than five
> or ten minutes, perhaps even less.
>
> I wouldn't be too surprised if most stations that go
> all-Christmas have already produced (with either an imaging
> voice of one of the station's personalities) an introduction
> to the all-Christmas programming consisting of the imaging
> person or local personality saying "You've waited long
> enough! (Name of Station or Call Letters) is proud to
> present the 2005 (whatever title the station's all-Christmas
> format will have; or the phrase "Nonstop Holiday music
> through December 25th")", followed by the first Christmas
> song.
>
> I even think a few stations even have two versions of this
> introduction about to be (if not already) loaded into their
> hard-drives: Version #1 as outlined in the previous
> paragraph, and Version #2, which begins with the sound
> effect of a record scratching followed by the same content
> as in Version #1.
>
> Why would a station put together the "Version #2" I outlined
> above?? If they're beaten "to the punch" in launching an
> all-Christmas format, the PD (assuming this is during work
> hours) hears the rival station going all-Christmas, then
> comes down the hall, into the air studio, and orders the
> announcer-on-duty to interrupt the song in progress to go
> all-Christmas.
>
> Yes, I feel this is extremely juvenile! But I wouldn't be
> surprised if there are a few stations out there (read:
> WBEB-101.1 and WSNI-104.5, both in Philadelphia) that indeed
> have the pre-produced transition to all-Christmas starting
> with the sound effect of a record being scratched so that
> they can interrupt a record in-progress to make the flip,
> and as a result, any advantage their competitor may have by
> going all-Christmas might last no more than a couple of
> minutes.
>
In 2003 and 2004, it was very interesting for all Christmas in Milwaukee and Chicago.


11-18-03

WLIT Chicago (AC) had it announced to go all Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. But WNND Chicago (80s-90s Hot AC, which was similar to current day Variety Hits) abruptly went all Christmas the morning of 11-18-03. WLIT quickly followed.


WLTQ Milwaukee (AC) had it announced to go all Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. But WMYX Milwaukee (Hot AC) abruptly flipped to call Christmas 11-18-03. WLTQ quickly followed.

So suddenly, I was able to pick up 4 all Christmas stations in the middle of November. The last time that happened was in November of 2001 when WOOD-FM Grand Rapids (AC) re branded to "Star 105.7" and went All Christmas to celebrate it. I was constantly pulling in WOOD via tropo during that time.



----------------

11-18-04

WLTQ was dead in Milwaukee. Went to 80s Based Classic Rock in September.

WLTQ's standards sister WOKY has been going all Christmas the day after thanksgiving for years. On or around 11-18-04, WOKY put up a Christmasy website which led to message board conversations saying that WOKY was going all Christmas, even though it didn't happen.

WMYX was slated to go all Christmas the day after thanksgiving 2004. But because of WOKY's little website, they did it again on 11-18-04.


for WMYX imaging wise, they just used the same liners they did the year before. The station crosses between CDs and the computer so they probably kicked it off using the CD players and later set up the computer. At the end of the 2003 Christmas format (Midnight 12-26-03) they produced a bunch of stuff to make it sound like they were stunting for a format flip. When in reality it was a return to the Hot AC format as if it were an acutal format flip. Specifially to trick posters of message boards. at Midnight 12-26-04, they did the same thing except this time for an hour they flipped to Soft AC as "Magic 99" to trick board posters into believing that they were bringing back the soft AC format of their sister station WXSS-103.7 (Was Soft AC "Magic 103.7" in the 90s)

I really don't get where the all Christmas "Hype" came from. Back in the early- mid 90s I remember WLTQ running all Christmas in November and December with no mention of it being "All Christmas" in the liners. They just played all Christmas as if it were regular music programming.<P ID="signature">______________

AIM: JeremyA1069</P>

 

[dommy]

> > In recent years, in markets where more than one station
> has
> > gone all-Christmas, there has often been a "race" to see
> > which station would be first to go all-Christmas. In
> markets
> > with multiple all-Christmas outlets, the first station to
> > flip usually doesn't have more than a few hours (and most
> > recently, no more than a few minutes) as the only
> > all-Christmas station in the market.
> >
> > Frankly, I think it's juvenile.
> >
> > But I can even see it become more juvenile this year.
> >
> > I personally think that although it's way too soon, I
> > strongly believe that about 100 stations will go
> > all-Christmas next Tuesday (November 1st), and in
> virtually
> > all markets that get multiple all-Christmas stations, a
> > second flip will be within minutes of the first.
> >
> > By combining "monitoring of the competition" and
> > contemporary technology (read: hard drives), any station's
>
> > advantage as being first to flip may last no more than
> five
> > or ten minutes, perhaps even less.
> >
> > I wouldn't be too surprised if most stations that go
> > all-Christmas have already produced (with either an
> imaging
> > voice of one of the station's personalities) an
> introduction
> > to the all-Christmas programming consisting of the imaging
>
> > person or local personality saying "You've waited long
> > enough! (Name of Station or Call Letters) is proud to
> > present the 2005 (whatever title the station's
> all-Christmas
> > format will have; or the phrase "Nonstop Holiday music
> > through December 25th")", followed by the first Christmas
> > song.
> >
> > I even think a few stations even have two versions of this
>
> > introduction about to be (if not already) loaded into
> their
> > hard-drives: Version #1 as outlined in the previous
> > paragraph, and Version #2, which begins with the sound
> > effect of a record scratching followed by the same content
>
> > as in Version #1.
> >
> > Why would a station put together the "Version #2" I
> outlined
> > above?? If they're beaten "to the punch" in launching an
> > all-Christmas format, the PD (assuming this is during work
>
> > hours) hears the rival station going all-Christmas, then
> > comes down the hall, into the air studio, and orders the
> > announcer-on-duty to interrupt the song in progress to go
> > all-Christmas.
> >
> > Yes, I feel this is extremely juvenile! But I wouldn't be
> > surprised if there are a few stations out there (read:
> > WBEB-101.1 and WSNI-104.5, both in Philadelphia) that
> indeed
> > have the pre-produced transition to all-Christmas starting
>
> > with the sound effect of a record being scratched so that
> > they can interrupt a record in-progress to make the flip,
> > and as a result, any advantage their competitor may have
> by
> > going all-Christmas might last no more than a couple of
> > minutes.
> >
> In 2003 and 2004, it was very interesting for all Christmas
> in Milwaukee and Chicago.
>
>
> 11-18-03
>
> WLIT Chicago (AC) had it announced to go all Christmas the
> day after Thanksgiving. But WNND Chicago (80s-90s Hot AC,
> which was similar to current day Variety Hits) abruptly went
> all Christmas the morning of 11-18-03. WLIT quickly
> followed.
>
>
> WLTQ Milwaukee (AC) had it announced to go all Christmas the
> day after Thanksgiving. But WMYX Milwaukee (Hot AC) abruptly
> flipped to call Christmas 11-18-03. WLTQ quickly followed.
>
> So suddenly, I was able to pick up 4 all Christmas stations
> in the middle of November. The last time that happened was
> in November of 2001 when WOOD-FM Grand Rapids (AC) re
> branded to "Star 105.7" and went All Christmas to celebrate
> it. I was constantly pulling in WOOD via tropo during that
> time.
>
>
>
> ----------------
>
> 11-18-04
>
> WLTQ was dead in Milwaukee. Went to 80s Based Classic Rock
> in September.
>
> WLTQ's standards sister WOKY has been going all Christmas
> the day after thanksgiving for years. On or around 11-18-04,
> WOKY put up a Christmasy website which led to message board
> conversations saying that WOKY was going all Christmas, even
> though it didn't happen.
>
> WMYX was slated to go all Christmas the day after
> thanksgiving 2004. But because of WOKY's little website,
> they did it again on 11-18-04.
>
>
> for WMYX imaging wise, they just used the same liners they
> did the year before. The station crosses between CDs and the
> computer so they probably kicked it off using the CD players
> and later set up the computer. At the end of the 2003
> Christmas format (Midnight 12-26-03) they produced a bunch
> of stuff to make it sound like they were stunting for a
> format flip. When in reality it was a return to the Hot AC
> format as if it were an acutal format flip. Specifially to
> trick posters of message boards. at Midnight 12-26-04, they
> did the same thing except this time for an hour they flipped
> to Soft AC as "Magic 99" to trick board posters into
> believing that they were bringing back the soft AC format of
> their sister station WXSS-103.7 (Was Soft AC "Magic 103.7"
> in the 90s)
>
> I really don't get where the all Christmas "Hype" came from.
> Back in the early- mid 90s I remember WLTQ running all
> Christmas in November and December with no mention of it
> being "All Christmas" in the liners. They just played all
> Christmas as if it were regular music programming.
>
It was a stunt used by stations when a format change was coming in January. But it is now standard programming for the majority of mainstream A/C stations come the holiday season (or before...) Why? Pretty simple...Ratings and revenue. And meeting the expectations of your target audience. The typical A/C listener wants Christmas music once the day after Thanksgiving arrives. Stations opt to go earlier so a chunk of the fall rating period is Christmas...and usually a ratings bonanza. Until the numbers begin showing that this isn't what listeners want anymore, continue to see it happen. Can you really blame the stations?
It's not juvenile..it's good business sense.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

What I find "juvenile" about stations going all-Christmas is:

(1) Stations doing it before Thanksgiving, although I personally think even after Thanksgiving, it's overkill because there aren't that many Christmas songs available for such a format. I'd prefer that all-Christmas be restriocted to 36 hours between 12 Noon December 24th and 11:59 P.M. December 25th. Instead, I'd begin playing Christmas music on December 1st with one song every three hours from the 1st through the 10th; one Christmas song every two hours from the 11th through the 17th; one Christmas song an hour from the 18th until 12 Noon Christmas Eve, then wall-to-wall Christmas music for 36 hours for the rest of Christmas Eve and all of Christmas Day.

(2) The fact that if one station in a market goes all-Christmas, someone else (if more than one station in a market does it) will follow suit within minutes.

(3) And it starting earlier and earlier each year. Two stations in southern New Jersey went all-Christmas on October 17th. I would not be surprised if over a hundred stations do it next Tuesday (November 1st), and some markets seeing two stations take the plunge within minutes of each other that very day. Fifty others may follow suit by the end of that week.

 

[radiolover78]

> What I find "juvenile" about stations going all-Christmas
> is:
>
> (1) Stations doing it before Thanksgiving, although I
> personally think even after Thanksgiving, it's overkill
> because there aren't that many Christmas songs available for
> such a format. I'd prefer that all-Christmas be restriocted
> to 36 hours between 12 Noon December 24th and 11:59 P.M.
> December 25th. Instead, I'd begin playing Christmas music on
> December 1st with one song every three hours from the 1st
> through the 10th; one Christmas song every two hours from
> the 11th through the 17th; one Christmas song an hour from
> the 18th until 12 Noon Christmas Eve, then wall-to-wall
> Christmas music for 36 hours for the rest of Christmas Eve
> and all of Christmas Day.

I do think early, even mid November is too early to go all Christmas, but I think it is appropriate to go the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I also like if some stations gradually add more an more. I don't agree with your ideas though. I think one or two songs an hour in late November into early December, then add more and more as the day gets closer, but I do enjoy all Christmas stations, when I'm in the mood for it, but when the 26th comes, I very happy that regular programming is back.

I also think its ok to play some holiday songs after Christmas too. Stop around New Year's.
>
> (2) The fact that if one station in a market goes
> all-Christmas, someone else (if more than one station in a
> market does it) will follow suit within minutes.

For radio geeks, it is exciting to see the competition, although one is enough. Last year WPLJ in NYC went all Christmas. WLTW did the same. I prefered WPLJ's presentation cuz it was fun and upbeat, but I also liked WLTW's since it was quiet, simple, and nice.
>
> (3) And it starting earlier and earlier each year. Two
> stations in southern New Jersey went all-Christmas on
> October 17th. I would not be surprised if over a hundred
> stations do it next Tuesday (November 1st), and some markets
> seeing two stations take the plunge within minutes of each
> other that very day. Fifty others may follow suit by the end
> of that week.

The stations in South Jersey made a stupid decision. Christmas before Halloween is obsurd!
>
<P ID="signature">______________
The Place for the Latest Happenings in Radio
www.freewebs.com/radiostuffandnews
</P>

 

[SuperDav20000]

Early Christmas in Norfolk

Clear Channel's Soft AC WJCD 107.7 Windsor/Norfolk, VA has gone all christmas music. WOW!! it's too early for this.<P ID="signature">______________
Tidewater MediaZone TV/Radio Audio Clips and ScreenCaps</P>

 

[nd2023]

Philadelphia gets an early Christmas too

50 days until Christmas, and I'm already hearing Christmas music on Sunny 104.5//WSNI Philadelphia. And this year, it's not a preview weekend. Some trees are still green, it will be 70 degrees this weekend, and I still have tons of Halloween candy.<P ID="signature">______________
17-year-old radio geek
Location: Princeton Junction, NJ
AIM: KewlDude471</P>