This afternoon, WBEB flipped to X-Mas music today!
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Ho Ho Ho is here!!!!!!!!
- Thread starter CurtisNEPA
- Start date
I was at work at 2pm when they switched.. they played Madonna's Holiday and I blurted out "That's a Christmas song"..
So Friday morning at work the station was changed from 101 to 93.7 WSTW Wilmington DE..THANK GOD ..WSTW IS NOW MY FAVORITE STATION FOR THE HOLIDAYS..
H
Hdradioisthefuture
Guest
Why not just tune in to the HD2, if your office doesn't have an HD radio, chip in a few bucks a piece and purchase an Insignia table HD radio for under 50.00, problem solved and even better is WSTW HD2 a wide variety of soft hits from the 60's 70's 80's and 90's...
I really don't undertstand the rush to play Christmas music... Let us celebrate Thanksgiving, then maybe we can talk about Christmas. At this rate in a couple of years we will be listening to Christmas music in July.
I understand the rush to play it--it works. And it's a business. What I don't understand is the rush to listen in the first place. Or to listen to nothing but Christmas endlessly. I enjoyed the era when stations mixed in a holiday song within the format, maybe ramping up the mix on the way to Christmas. But hey, whatever. That's why I create a new playlist on my phone--Christmas + regular, so it goes back and forth.
As you say, I get it, it's a business, what I don't understand (as you also say) is the need to listen to ALL Christmas songs, WJBR and WBEB are like in that line... Don't missunderstand me, I'm not The Grinch, I love Christmas time but I would like to listen some songs mixed in the playlists, not a whole playlist with ONLY Christmas songs, whatever. The audience talks.
Exactly. It used to be a bigger deal for stations that did the whole "24 hours" (or 36 or whatever) of Christmas when the time arrived. Now...meh, sure, the commercials are gone, but that's it? We've already heard Nat King Cole about 16,423 times. It just isn't that magical.
Those around long enough to remember Kiss 100 might remember when they did Christmas Kisses--15 minute blocks of Christmas, then back to the regular format. It was a twist on the "mix them in" approach. What's also lost the specialness is hearing that first holiday song of the season on or after Thanksgiving. I remember back in my younger days coming out of a nightclub in the wee hours of Thanksgiving morning and hearing one on the radio. Now, it's already been done to death by that time. And by the time Christmas actually arrives, I do feel more Grinch-like than I should, because between the early commercials, Santas at the malls, decorations up since Halloween and the music...I'm just flipping over it and ready to be done. Whatever sentiment the season is supposed to invoke is killed off by the over commercialization and cramming it every which way. Even as a younger adult, I loved the season, long past the days when presents made me wide-eyed, but now...it's just overkill.
Radio does formats. That's what radio has been for over 40 years. So you got your rock format, your country format, your news format, and your Christmas format. It only lasts a couple months. But it's a format. For those few weeks, the station flips format to Christmas. If you like it, you park there for a few weeks. If you don't, you know to avoid it. At the same time, I'm sure there are other stations who mix in the occasional Christmas song in the weeks before the holiday. I usually program in one or two an hour.
Well, you are saying that is normal for stations to "change format for Christmas", while that's totally true, that phenomenom is kinda unique and I know most of the people love it, but for example imagine WDEL changing it's news format for a few weeks and broadcasting Gospel 24/7 because the Pope visit... It will be nuts (yes, I know iHeart did that with the Jazz AM in Philly, anyways... It's nuts). I honestly think that what you do is by far the best option, a couple of songs per hour to cheer up the Christmas spirit, perfect, but that's it, not a 24/7 "Broadcasting from North Pole".
Another funny thing is that every year they seem to start earlier and I think that kills the "special moment". At one point we are going to end up listening to Christmas songs while celebrating the 4th of July.
But as you say, the dial is full with stations, I'm just thinking out loud and making a bit of rant, nevermind!
Our office just has some old stereo system in a closet hooked up. I like WSTW better than WBEB. WSTW sounds CHR to me. Not many slow songs and we need hot rockin, flame throwin music to get through the afternoon.
It's worth to mention that WOGL hasn't flipped yet as of today. Last year, after both WBEB and WJBR flipped, WOGL immediately jumped on the holiday bandwagon. So, I think that considering the big ratings drop they are experiencing, it is wise for them to just flip the switch.
Didn't wbeb get like an 18 share last time around? Switching to all xmas music is about the biggest no brainer in the history of broadcasting. I can't for the life of me find a single reason to say that this is not the right move for them, it's lunacy for anyone to knock them for doing what gets them almost 1 out of every 5 listeners in the market.
98 had a nice rebound in the latest book, if I remember correctly they didn't gain a thing by going xmas. It makes sense for them to just sprinkle in a few holiday songs along with their regular programming. 101-1 just owns the title of the x-mas station in the market, no viable way to take that on and if you don't see a spike in your numbers then there is no reason to completely abandon your regular programming. As for me one ho is enough, I don't need 3 so I will go with 98-9 and 107-9.
98 had a nice rebound in the latest book, if I remember correctly they didn't gain a thing by going xmas. It makes sense for them to just sprinkle in a few holiday songs along with their regular programming. 101-1 just owns the title of the x-mas station in the market, no viable way to take that on and if you don't see a spike in your numbers then there is no reason to completely abandon your regular programming. As for me one ho is enough, I don't need 3 so I will go with 98-9 and 107-9.
Gospel music, be it Country Gospel [Evangelical Protestant] or Urban Gospel [Black / Urban Protestant] wouldn't be the correct format for the Pope, but Hymns and Gregorian Chant would be more appropriate. Interestingly, such a format can be heard online at Lutheran Public Radio. Even though Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation, his church [later named Lutheran, after his death] is very much like the Catholic version in general format [the Mass], the doctrine [beliefs] are where the difference is. http://lutheranpublicradio.org/
However, your point about WDEL switching from News/Talk to Hymns/Gregorian Chant, for the Pope's visit would be confusing to many of their listeners and advertisers. Good point.
The difference though, is women like Christmas Music and they, generally speaking, are the target demo thus the advertisers like the "season of Christmas Music" and the stations like it for the revenue it generates, with the larger ratings. So it's purely business.
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I know, I know... I was just making a rant. If they have better sales that way, great for them! As you say, it's a business! And I agree, women LOVE Christmas music.
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