I just came across a post on Facebook regarding some kind of announcement forthcoming on WEZZ this Friday at 5 pm. Anyone know what is afoot over there?
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The 5 pm announcement 9/25
- Thread starter passtheword
- Start date
Just checked and there are sleigh bell sounds heard between songs on 97.3, with an occasional mention of some sort of Christmas announcement coming at 5 pm on Friday. Surely those folks over at Summit Media aren't crazy enough to try Christmas music this early, especially after last year's Christmas music feast they started in October? This all sounds like some sort of ruse to me...
That is what I'm thinking it must be. Christmas music for 3 months time? Gotta be some type of format change on the heels of all of it. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out once the dust settles, between what lands on 97.3, 97.7, 100.1 (and maybe 99.1), also.
Summit Launches Birmingham Christmas Translator
Lance Venta | September 25, 2015 Update 7:10pm: After an hour of Christmas Music, WEZZ-FM returned to its regular Soft AC format. However it has kept the Christmas Music going commercial-free on 100.1 W261BX Birmingham. Original Report 6:18pm: Just two days after the Summer season officially ended, SummitMedia Soft AC “Easy 97.3” WEZZ-FM Gardendale/Birmingham, AL became the first station to switch to Christmas Music for the holiday season at 5:00 this afternoon. With 91 days to go until Christmas, WEZZ-FM made the move exactly one month earlier than last year. On October 25, 2014 both WEZZ-FM and iHeartMedia AC “Magic 96.5” WMJJ Birmingham flipped within minutes of one another. It took until October 17 to get the first Christmas station in 2014. Switching to Christmas music did not have much of an impact on WEZZ’s ratings differential with WMJJ last year. In the Fall 2014 and Winter 2015 Nielsen Audio ratings Easy’s 2.1 share trailed Magic’s 3.2. In the Spring 2015 book WEZZ-FM rose to a 2.3, while WMJJ dropped to a 3.0 share.
Read More At: https://radioinsight.com/blog/headl...rmingham-flips-to-christmas-music/#more-94726
Dan <><
Lance Venta | September 25, 2015 Update 7:10pm: After an hour of Christmas Music, WEZZ-FM returned to its regular Soft AC format. However it has kept the Christmas Music going commercial-free on 100.1 W261BX Birmingham. Original Report 6:18pm: Just two days after the Summer season officially ended, SummitMedia Soft AC “Easy 97.3” WEZZ-FM Gardendale/Birmingham, AL became the first station to switch to Christmas Music for the holiday season at 5:00 this afternoon. With 91 days to go until Christmas, WEZZ-FM made the move exactly one month earlier than last year. On October 25, 2014 both WEZZ-FM and iHeartMedia AC “Magic 96.5” WMJJ Birmingham flipped within minutes of one another. It took until October 17 to get the first Christmas station in 2014. Switching to Christmas music did not have much of an impact on WEZZ’s ratings differential with WMJJ last year. In the Fall 2014 and Winter 2015 Nielsen Audio ratings Easy’s 2.1 share trailed Magic’s 3.2. In the Spring 2015 book WEZZ-FM rose to a 2.3, while WMJJ dropped to a 3.0 share.
Read More At: https://radioinsight.com/blog/headl...rmingham-flips-to-christmas-music/#more-94726
Dan <><
When the Christmas fare started on 97.3, I tuned into the 100.1 translator and realized it was running a separate Christmas feed...I'm assuming it was simulcasting WENN as before, but didn't have an AM radio to check at the time to see if that was the case. I figured that SummitMedia wouldn't be doing two Christmas stations, so it was pretty apparent at that point the Christmas music was just a ruse to launch 100.1. Easy 97.3's Facebook page is now telling listeners that the Christmas music on 97.3 was just a "sample" and they could now listen to the Christmas music commercial-free on 100.1. Some of Easy 97.3's listeners didn't "get the memo", however, that the soft AC programming had returned and are posting on WEZZ's facebook page about it being too early for Christmas music, etc.
The 99.1 translator remains off the air.
The 99.1 translator remains off the air.
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Thanks for the update. I was reminded that the 99.1 translator was off due to losing its lease or something like that. My memory stinks when it comes to remembering all this stuff! That's part of the reason I started my website so many years ago, as a personal cache of all the interesting history and data of the state's radio stations.
I agree that it's too early for Christmas music. I passed along that info to a friend "up nawth" and she gagged, lol. She, like me, hates the Christmas creep that puts Santa dolls out next to the Halloween candy.
At least they're shuffling the format off to the dusty corner of Birmingham radio where it can churn away, commercial free, and not piss off too many listeners.
I do wonder if they were secretly hoping that Magic would jump the gun and follow 97.3's lead, so they could pull back and capture the AC audience for themselves.
Yes, I had wondered that myself...if Summit Media was hoping "Magic" would take the bait and switch to the Christmas music early (bait and switch, lolol). Maybe two different sets of plans were in place for 97.3, depending on whether "Magic" acted or not.
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