Christmas Music Has Arrived in Hagerstown

[edocean]

Congrats to the folks at WIKZ 95.1 for bringing Christmas Music to the tri-state!

 

[bossjock 56]

They do it well! Great mix of holiday classics. I used to tune out stations for a month or so, once the Christmas music started....but I like this stuff. Check 'em out!

 

[radiolistener66]

Yeah, my wife (one of those Women 25-54 types) mentioned it yesterday, saying how it annoyed the living hell out of her and had switched for good. She usually bounces back and forth between 92.5, 95.1 & 97.5, but generally likes 95.1 better than the other two, but she's pissed. Says 6 weeks of Xmas is too much.

Maybe they can get away with it in Chambersburg, but not in Hagerstown--too many choices.

Doesn't bother me, since I never hear them anyway. Can't stand the husband-wife morning act--she's been propping the guy up for way too many years.

 

[mleach]

Yeah, my wife (one of those Women 25-54 types) mentioned it yesterday, saying how it annoyed the living hell out of her and had switched for good. She usually bounces back and forth between 92.5, 95.1 & 97.5, but generally likes 95.1 better than the other two, but she's pissed. Says 6 weeks of Xmas is too much.

Maybe they can get away with it in Chambersburg, but not in Hagerstown--too many choices.

Doesn't bother me, since I never hear them anyway. Can't stand the husband-wife morning act--she's been propping the guy up for way too many years.

Speaking of 97.5..I wonder if they will be doing the all Christmas thing this year since "Lite 97.5" is now under a new program director..Joe Sanchez and remembering Joe from his Winchester days, he really wasn't all that big into Christmas tunes unlike the previous 97.5 program director Stacy Drake and his wife Tammy. It was Stacy & Tammy's idea to do all Christmas on Lite. Maybe Joe will continue that "tradition" starting on black Friday. Guess we'll see.

 

[ratingsgeek]

Speaking of 97.5..I wonder if they will be doing the all Christmas thing this year since "Lite 97.5" is now under a new program director..Joe Sanchez and remembering Joe from his Winchester days, he really wasn't all that big into Christmas tunes unlike the previous 97.5 program director Stacy Drake and his wife Tammy. It was Stacy & Tammy's idea to do all Christmas on Lite. Maybe Joe will continue that "tradition" starting on black Friday. Guess we'll see.

No, Drake had nothing to do with it. When they launched "Lite" on 95.9, switching from Country 9 or 10 years ago, the GM at the time, Yogi Yoder, decided it would be a good transition to do the All Christmas thing from Thanksgiving through Xmas and then debut "Lite." At the time only a handful of stations around the country had done the schtick, so it was still a novelty. IIRC, response was generally good so they continued it thereafter when "Lite" moved up to 97.5. It may be safe to say that Drake & his wife might have embraced the idea eventually, but it originated above his pay-grade.

 

[bossjock 56]

I think Rick and Lisa do a great job on MIX. My wife and I were discussing what it would be like to do a morning show together and came to the conclusion that it would lead to a weekly on air visit from a marriage counselor and eventually a divorce lawyer. They've been at this for awhile and do a very family friendly show. I don't have to turn the radio down when the kids are in the car.

 

[jackandcoke]

I think Rick and Lisa do a great job on MIX. My wife and I were discussing what it would be like to do a morning show together and came to the conclusion that it would lead to a weekly on air visit from a marriage counselor and eventually a divorce lawyer. They've been at this for awhile and do a very family friendly show. I don't have to turn the radio down when the kids are in the car.

Thanks, Rick, but save the promos. This is a forum of your radio peers and/or superiors. We've all heard the script... or written it for you to read.

Truth is, IKZ is doing the Christmas thing because Main Line is a Philly outfit, and BEB shot through the PPM roof with Christmas last year. And there's no real downside for Mix--they're the only game in town (Chambersburg), so even though they will undoubtedly chase a lot of their regulars away for six weeks, they'll be back by Easter--just in time for the Spring book.

 

[bossjock 56]

Sorry.....I'm not Rick.

 

[mleach]

No, Drake had nothing to do with it. When they launched "Lite" on 95.9, switching from Country 9 or 10 years ago, the GM at the time, Yogi Yoder, decided it would be a good transition to do the All Christmas thing from Thanksgiving through Xmas and then debut "Lite." At the time only a handful of stations around the country had done the schtick, so it was still a novelty. IIRC, response was generally good so they continued it thereafter when "Lite" moved up to 97.5. It may be safe to say that Drake & his wife might have embraced the idea eventually, but it originated above his pay-grade.

You're right..my bad !! Santa 95.9 !! Now I remember. I believe the switch from "Country 95.9 WYII to Santa 95.9 which led to WLTF Lite 95.9 was one reason why Rich Daniels had left WYII to head up to WQCM and the format switch had brought Selena Luther from the now defunct "Kiss Country 94.3" to 95.9. For the record none of these people have anything to to with either 95.9 or 97.5 today. Yoder actually I believe is no longer in radio at all.

Still it should be interesting to see if Lite 97.5 will be doing all Christmas this year.Unless I overlooked something there is nothing on their site about it and usually by this time with Thanksgiving & Black Friday being next week...well usually it is on their site by now. Maybe Joe Sanchez has a different idea this year since from what I have read on DCRTV some months back Joe wanted to do things different with 97.5 than what Stacy and Yogi had done with 97.5 in the past. My guess..they will go Christmas but then again WLTF has Joe Sanchez now.

 

[jackandcoke]

Joe has done a pretty good job shifting the LTF target slightly younger--nowhere close to a Hot AC, but not nearly as oldies-focused as it was before. With Mix opting out of the AC world for the next month and a half, this would be a great time for 97.5 to stay on course and pick up tons-o-listeners who actually like AC more than they like wall-to-wall Christmas tunes.

It would also be a great time to crack out the checkbook and do some other-media advertising.

Mix would certainly get some of them back post-Xmas. But not all of them.

 

[RockofHBG]

Get over it folks, doing Christmas music this way works and big time, just like other things listeners complain about....like song repetition. For years WLTF tried to win with Christmas. They started too late (Black Friday)and played every Christmas song ever recorded. They had it all to themselves from 2000-2004 and never scored. Then in 2005, WIKZ started to do it the right way, starting early and playing just the hits! Last year WIKZ was number 1 12 + in the Fall 2008 ARB for the first time in years.I know it's crazy, but it works!!

 

[bossjock 56]

Not only do the numbers speak for themselves, but clients love it. Got to make that cash in the 4th quarter...especially this year!

 

[jackandcoke]

Get over it folks, doing Christmas music this way works and big time, just like other things listeners complain about....like song repetition. For years WLTF tried to win with Christmas. They started too late (Black Friday)and played every Christmas song ever recorded. They had it all to themselves from 2000-2004 and never scored. Then in 2005, WIKZ started to do it the right way, starting early and playing just the hits! Last year WIKZ was number 1 12 + in the Fall 2008 ARB for the first time in years.I know it's crazy, but it works!!

Oh, there's Rick (sorry bossjock). Y'all have gone 9.1-10.3-9.5 the last 3 books, essentially flat.

You're probably tempted to credit the All-Christmas thing for hitting the 10.3, but statistically it's well within the margin for error. The difference between a 10.3 and a 9.5 (0.8) in market #166 can be as simple as rounding--it doesn't mean anything.

Country has tailed off the past year or two, and VerStandig handed you the #1 spot by carving 5 or 6 shares out of his own hide, whacking WAYZ's TSL (and AQH) with 92.1.

But if you're absolutely convinced that Christmas is The Answer--and the numbers are real--then you might want to ask yourself about that drop in the Spring. Why did that happen? Should you go All Christmas year-round?

Just be careful not to dislocate your shoulder while patting yourself on the back!

 

[RockofHBG]

Do you have Maximiser to break out the numbers? Oh, didn't think so. December (actually the last two weeks of November and the first two of December) goes ka-boom! Only someone who is so arrogant in their own opinions would let this opportunity get away....and there are many who do. Check out the ratings for scores of markets around the country where Christmas drives ratings through the roof. I don't know how it works, by by golly it does and BIG. By the way, the numbers you are quoting are two book averages. That's how the book is compiled in condensed markets. If you take just the 3 months in the Fall of 2008, WIKZ has a 12.0 share compared to WAYZ's 6.8 person 12+. If you look at just December of 2008 WIKZ has a 17.5 12+ as compared to WAYZ's 5.2. Can you hear me now?

 

[jackandcoke]

Do you have Maximiser to break out the numbers? Oh, didn't think so. December (actually the last two weeks of November and the first two of December) goes ka-boom! Only someone who is so arrogant in their own opinions would let this opportunity get away....and there are many who do. Check out the ratings for scores of markets around the country where Christmas drives ratings through the roof. I don't know how it works, by by golly it does and BIG. By the way, the numbers you are quoting are two book averages. That's how the book is compiled in condensed markets. If you take just the 3 months in the Fall of 2008, WIKZ has a 12.0 share compared to WAYZ's 6.8 person 12+. If you look at just December of 2008 WIKZ has a 17.5 12+ as compared to WAYZ's 5.2. Can you hear me now?

Well, hearing you on-air is something I've managed to avoid for most of the past couple decades--no need to change now.

No arrogance here. Just a very humble hunch that the humans producing the 17.5 in December for Xmas tunes may not be the same humans accustomed punching up 95.1 and hearing pop hits. So you're putting those listeners up for grabs.

But that's part of the charm of a one-station town. No matter how bad the programming is, you're always going to win.

 

[mleach]

But that's part of the charm of a one-station town. No matter how bad the programming is, you're always going to win.

So true !! Just like Martinsburg with WLTF and WKMZ before that ( WICL doesn't really count since they don't even say "Martinsburg" in its legal ID...at least the last time I heard them anyway ). And I am sure Martinsburg's two AMers outside of high school football doesn't have much in the way of listeners either. Sadly that point was proven earlier this year when WEPM-AM's long time morning guy Jay Young suffered a massive stroke. Not only did the local Martinsburg Journal newspaper totally overlooked this but many folks in Berkeley County did even know that at the time Jay was still on the air !!!

Front Royal, VA another good example. WZRV "95.3 The River"..hardly a good sounding radio station but they do well there because WZRV is the only FM station in town.

 

[edocean]

WIKZ's Christmas Programming hopefully will get everyone in the holiday mood.
It's been a tough year, and maybe the music will bring some Christmas spirit into
the air and encourage people to support their local businesses with Christmas purchases. WIKZ seems to be pretty much a pop station and alot of the Christmas tunes they're playing seem to be pop. Plus don't forget, that 95.1 signal reaches alot of geography. You can hear this station everywhere, not only in Franklin County, but Washington County, and the panhandle of WV. Pretty well balanced station. Good luck in the sweeps. Be interesting to see if any other station flips to holiday progamming in the coming days.

 

[RockofHBG]

To Jack "Everything I Learned About Radio Came From a Blog" and Coke:

Please note that EVERY radio station that switches to Christmas risks alienating audience. In case you haven't noticed, mainstream/soft ACs no longer play Neil Diamond and The Carpenters. So that when they switch to all-Christmas, it can be almost equally jarring as it is for a Hot AC. But the big stations in every market do so every year, some with a lot more formidable competition than Lite and they consistently win big doing so

Secondly, in an earlier post I mentioned that in condensed markets the stations carry 2 book averages, so that a ratings bumps like that in December hang around for a for a whole year. And that my friend made countless thousands more this year for Main Line Broadcasting. That is where the rubber hits the road.

Now, Jack you best get back to work at K-Mart Distraction Center and enjoy a little holiday cheer.

 

[mleach]

Plus don't forget, that 95.1 signal reaches alot of geography. You can hear this station everywhere, not only in Franklin County, but Washington County, and the panhandle of WV.

WIKZ goes as far south as Frederick County, VA ( Winchester ). One reason why for so many years WIKZ called themselves a FOUR-state station rather than "Tri-State" even though many of the other Hagerstown market stations still use "Tri-State" even if their signals do make it into Virginia, in some cases ( WAYZ and 106.9 The Eagle ) well beyond past Winchester...say Harrisonburg.

 

[jackandcoke]

Plus don't forget, that 95.1 signal reaches alot of geography. You can hear this station everywhere, not only in Franklin County, but Washington County, and the panhandle of WV.

WIKZ goes as far south as Frederick County, VA ( Winchester ). One reason why for so many years WIKZ called themselves a FOUR-state station rather than "Tri-State" even though many of the other Hagerstown market stations still use "Tri-State" even if their signals do make it into Virginia, in some cases ( WAYZ and 106.9 The Eagle ) well beyond past Winchester...say Harrisonburg.

Mike, I'm a WIKZ alum--that's why it's so much fun to tweak Rick (he gets so defensive, so quick). He got stuck in a town of 17,000 for life and has a bit of a complex. So, in the spirit of the still-distant Holidays, let me extend the branch of Peace. It's a fine little station in a nice little town and he does a fine job doing the same thing he's been doing every day for 25 years or so. Kind of like slapping hubcaps on pick-em-ups at the ol' truck factory. It doesn't take much thought, but the only risk is falling asleep. Boring but safe!

As far as their signal in Virginia goes, WIKZ is a directional FM, protecting 94.9 in Harrisburg to the NE and 95.1 in Baltimore to the SE, so it more-or-less shoots the signal SW along the Valley, extending a tad further in that direction than it would otherwise. But their 60 dBu contour actually just reaches north of Martinsburg and the 50 dBu clips the VA/WV state line, leaving the Old Dominion in their "fringe" coverage at best. From a practical standpoint, Front Royal's 95.3/WZRV blocks them out in the Winchester area.

So unless we're talking about possible listenership at the Virginia Welcome Center on I-81, the "Four State" thing is wishful thinking. I've been looking at Winchester Arbitron reports since they first started surveying the market back in the dark ages and don't remember ever seeing "WIKZ" showing up.

It may come as a shock, but radio stations sometimes overstate their case just a little... in order to make themselves seem bigger than they really are!

Merry Christmas!