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HO!..HO!...HO!

I'm just not sure about this. I've thought about it here--but then when the FM's go---and they will---it seems you'll be crowded out, overshadowed, etc. And you're blowing up a portion of your regular audience. Unless they sold the crap out of it, in which case that's all the explanation needed. We'll go, but not til Santa's closer....
 
Yes...I can now pick them up again. They are "Your Hometown Christmas Station" and it is reflected on their website. I wonder if the "Timeless" contract ran out and they decided not to renew. I'm not even hearing ABC news at the top of the hour. I did here Tom Donovan from WHP doing an update...but no ABC, which makes me wonder. When they first went "Timeless" the numbers were a bit higher. They've dropped off a bit since, but with AM...it is what it is...and "Timeless" seemed to be working...unless they were concerned with it becoming more of a soft AC. Many of their sponsors are retirement homes so maybe Clear Channel wants to go more standard again....more of a "lounge" format. We'll see what happens.....but with the FM's about to crank up the yuletide favorites....I don't think the impact will be great...unless the ad dollars are there, of course. Gotta make the money where you can!
 
I don't see the benefit to a station with a niche audience, as WLAN 1390 certainly has, blowing off it's regular audience to play Christmas music. I flip into 1390 often in the car for a change of pace, but I won't be back now til after the holidays. And the selection isn't even very traditional. I tuned in yesterday and the first thing I heard was that dreadful version of "Winter Wonderland" by the Eurythmics. Yeah, that'll appeal to the retirement home crowd!
 
Yeah, I tuned in this morning to "I saw momma kissing Santa Claus" by young MJ & the gang. Never did like that song very much...I love Christmas music, but Nov. 1 is waaaay too early for this kind of thing. ::)
 
The Rose has been playing a message on air from the GM that they are going to celebrate one holiday at a time and will not start Christmas music until 6 PM Thanksgiving night. Now what will WARM do?
 
I believe there are only about 40 good christmas tunes.
most from the top 40 era. I don't care to hear m.c. hammer
doing white christmas.
 
Back when I was at WQXA-AM 1250 in the '90's, we did 20% of our billing for the ENTIRE YEAR doing all-Christmas for 4 weeks. But that was before the FMs started doing it. We also got a nice rating spike out of it, but again---the FMs WILL go and then WLAN becomes a non-factor.
 
Somehow I can't help but think that WLAN will be doing something else or have a new network once the holidays are over. That's why I think they went to Christmas music early. I agree that once the FMs get started.....the listeners will follow. At least they could have made it more of a standards mix. So lets break out the egg nog and figgy pudding and join the chorus. Just follow the bouncing People Meter and sing...."Jingle bells, batman smells, Clear Channel laid an egg".
 
Interesting strategy by the Rose. The fact the message is recorded by the GM leaves one to believe it's not a ploy and they will wait until 6pm Thanksgiving night no matter what WARM would do.

Now if WARM goes much before that, the Rose is betting there would be a backlash.

It won't happen. But it'll be interesting to see what the next move is.
 
I must agree that any operator intentionally trying to do a mainstream AC format for 20s-30s is a total strategic incompetent. Whomever made that decision for Rose (and they kept that name?!?!?) must be on a bad trip or some such.

That being said, the GM at Rose may be right on a possible Christmas music backlash. I've seen some national research on 100% Christmas music this year. Prevailing wisdom is that in 2009, the mood of the population is dictated by economic factors. In areas where the economy isn't as bad, early is no problem as people are in the spirit. In more economically depressed areas, it's wait and see because the possibility of more wide spread holiday depression could backfire on stations that go early. Managers who use the 9/11 scenario saying 'go early, look what it did then' are clueless. The reasons Christmas music worked so early in 2001 are totally different from today's circumstances. Either way, retailers are ready and praying.

Whatever the case, you can be sure that WARM will do what they're told by Lew "$10 million CEO" Dickey and the geniuses in Atlanta. It doesn't matter if it's right, it's Cumulus!
 
Interesting points concerning Christmas Music. It will be interesting to see how the scenario plays out nationally this year.

As far as the Rose goes, yes, they recognized that the Delilah show was no longer a fit and dropped it. Wise move.
The name "Rose" is more geographic than anything else. serving the White Rose and Red Rose cities. The station is on the fence between a Hot and Mainstream A/C and has been there for awhile.

But what's WARM excuse for imaging that doesn't fit? Soft Rock. Blink 182 & Barbie Girl. Really? Hanson. Really?
 
OK, Rose for White Rose and Red Rose cities. I understand that. Still, a softer moniker for what is a hotter station targeted at 20s-30s. I still find that a laughable strategy. Frankly, Delilah in a number of markets has more 24-34 females than those stations generate during the day. Dropping her can't hurt, but the name needs to change.

And there is really no product differentiation between two softer names "warm" and "rose".

As far as WARM's excuse for imaging that doesn't fit while playing Blink 182, etc. It's Cumulus. Really a simple answer. They, as a company, are clueless on AC radio. They simply don't get these incongruities as problematic.
 
There is only ONE Xmas song I want to hear every year and THAT is "Santa Claus and his Old Lady" by Cheech & Chong!! Usually heard on the "River".
 
WARM wins the Christmas race!....WARM wins the ratings for 4th quarter!...Bill Baldwin should get fired for letting 101 go even lower in the ratings!...
 
It's way to early to say WARM wins the ratings for 4th quarter. Considering how poorly they performed in the summer book...totally the responsiblity of the new "Mafiaoso regime", Christmas should bring them up somewhat. They do get kudos for getting the jump on the Rose. And only time will tell if Rose's decision to wait will prove to be a mortal "self inflicted" wound.

But if creativity still matters in this business, Dennis & Michelle get the nod over the "mafiaoso girl friend" any day of the week.
 
Thanks for your posts everyone. Enjoyed reading them!

As for reports about our diminishing ratings, obviously if you review numbers beyond 12 plus it will be a much different story than what was reported on this board. Look at target demos, not overall numbers.
 
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