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Which radio formats generally play solid Christmas music on 24/25?

J

js6592

I know you will hear this on country and adult contemporary stations (the latter often starts playing all Christmas just before Thanksgiving), but I tuned into our local CHR, Adult Top 40, and 70's/80/90's hits, expecting to hear Christmas songs (especially the last one, hoping they would emphasize classic Christmas hits not generally heard anymore). I heard only their regular formats. Is Christmas music exclusive to country and AC? Do adult R&B stations play solid Christmas?
 
It depends on the market and depends on the station. It's rare to hear CHR or Hot AC/Adult Top 40 go all-Christmas, even on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Many country stations will flip for the day, but not all. It's also common for the Classic Hits/Classic Rock station in a market with an AC that flips to counter-program and stay with the regular music.
 
Up at my parents' house:
Went All-Christmas on the 24th (at some point) and the 25th
89.7 WLMN (NPR news)
92.9 WJZQ (CHR)
98.5 WQLH (hot AC)
101.1 WIXX (CHR)
101.5 WMTE (AAA)
103.5 WTCM (country)
106.3 WGMV (classic country)
106.9 WLGE (AAA)
107.5 WCCW (classic hits)
In addition to the stations that flipped well before the 24th. Might be missing a few
 
Not all is correct. 92.9 KDBL stayed with regular country music on Christmas Eve/Day, and so did the two full-power FMs in Tri-Cities (94.9 and 102.7). Some adult R&B stations went Christmas on 12/24-25. Those with "The Touch" satellite format did (like Force 3 Radio in the MS/AR Delta, KSBU Vicksburg, etc.)
Also, WSBZ Fort Walton Beach does a Smooth Jazz Christmas for the 48 hours around the holiday. It is an AWESOME listen and I roll tape on it every year.
Over in Bishop CA, KSRW 92.5 (normally super-wide classic rock with tons of album cuts) was all-Christmas on 12/24-25.

Growing up, I remember 103.7 The Mountain (KMTT Seattle) would play Christmas music on 12/24-25. They were an AAA station. And for several years, KUJ 99.1 (Power, a CHR Station) did a Christmas flip on 12/24-25.
 
vw86 said:
It depends on the market and depends on the station. It's rare to hear CHR or Hot AC/Adult Top 40 go all-Christmas, even on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Many country stations will flip for the day, but not all. It's also common for the Classic Hits/Classic Rock station in a market with an AC that flips to counter-program and stay with the regular music.
Click to expand...

vw86 said:
It depends on the market and depends on the station. It's rare to hear CHR or Hot AC/Adult Top 40 go all-Christmas, even on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Many country stations will flip for the day, but not all. It's also common for the Classic Hits/Classic Rock station in a market with an AC that flips to counter-program and stay with the regular music.
Click to expand...

Right. In addition, many radio companies will put all Christmas only on one of their stations in a given market and leave their other stations to play their regular formats even on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. As I noted on another thread elsewhere on this Board, IHeart did this in Phoenix, AZ, placing the all-Christmas format on AC KESZ-FM and leaving the other stations in the Phoenix market (including country KNIX) to continue with their normal programming during the holiday season.
 


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