• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Holiday Lite

N

nwside7725

I would like to mention that I find the so called 'Christmas Music' on WLIT to be very lacking this year.

The station seems to have a very tight holiday playlist. They will play classics like Andy Williams, Perry Como, and Bing Crosby, but they will only play their 'holiday' songs.

I seldom actually hear a Christmas Carol on that station. I recall that the Holiday Lite used to sound better.

This station really sounds like a travesty this year. There is no variety, and dare I say they took out the most important part of Christmas?

WMBI has done a much better job with Christmas music, though I think they lean too much to the Christian Contemporary acts. They might as well just play an unlimited Christmas playlist, because they would still be the only station actually playing Christmas music (putting Christmas in its true meaning).

They could go from the Temptations, Bing Crosby, back to Bryan Duncan or Kathy Troccoli and still sound better than the Holiday Lite.

I have yet to hear "The First Noel" "O little Town of Bethlehem" or any of those songs. Literally the only two Christmas Carols that they use (sparingly at that) are "O Holy Night" and "Do you Hear what I hear" and a medley version of "The Little Drummer Boy". But I haven't heard any other true Christmas Carols on WLIT.

It's a travesty!
 
> I would like to mention that I find the so called 'Christmas
> Music' on WLIT to be very lacking this year.
>
> The station seems to have a very tight holiday playlist.
> They will play classics like Andy Williams, Perry Como, and
> Bing Crosby, but they will only play their 'holiday' songs.
>
> I seldom actually hear a Christmas Carol on that station. I
> recall that the Holiday Lite used to sound better.
>
> This station really sounds like a travesty this year. There
> is no variety, and dare I say they took out the most
> important part of Christmas?
>
> WMBI has done a much better job with Christmas music, though
> I think they lean too much to the Christian Contemporary
> acts. They might as well just play an unlimited Christmas
> playlist, because they would still be the only station
> actually playing Christmas music (putting Christmas in its
> true meaning).
>
> They could go from the Temptations, Bing Crosby, back to
> Bryan Duncan or Kathy Troccoli and still sound better than
> the Holiday Lite.
>
> I have yet to hear "The First Noel" "O little Town of
> Bethlehem" or any of those songs. Literally the only two
> Christmas Carols that they use (sparingly at that) are "O
> Holy Night" and "Do you Hear what I hear" and a medley
> version of "The Little Drummer Boy". But I haven't heard any
> other true Christmas Carols on WLIT.
>
> It's a travesty!
>

Seems that stations like to keep the Christ out of their Christmas music these days. Its a shame. Some stations (like WOKY Milwaukee) play plenty of carols. When WNND (100.3) did back in 2003 they played a bunch of carol/choir type tracks but WLIT still got the higher ratings.<P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
When WNND (100.3) did
> back in 2003 they played a bunch of carol/choir type tracks
> but WLIT still got the higher ratings.
>
And right there is your answer
 
> When WNND (100.3) did
> > back in 2003 they played a bunch of carol/choir type
> tracks
> > but WLIT still got the higher ratings.
> >
> And right there is your answer
>
I don't get how 24/7 of xmas music can generate ratings. I'm suprised that a station can switch during the holidays. Maybe because i'm jewish I don't get it. Do people actually want to hear the seame songs over and over again by different artists?
 
> I don't get how 24/7 of xmas music can generate ratings.
> I'm suprised that a station can switch during the holidays.
> Maybe because i'm jewish I don't get it. Do people actually
> want to hear the seame songs over and over again by
> different artists?
>
... Or the same artist ...

When I listen to an all-Christmas station it is only for a very short period of time because I don't want to wait for them to start repeating songs.

They do indeed attract listeners, who are supposed to continue listening to the post-holiday format.

A lot of stations do it as an extended stunt before flipping formats, which makes sense...you make the fanboys of your station less angry.
 
> I would like to mention that I find the so called 'Christmas
> Music' on WLIT to be very lacking this year.
>
> The station seems to have a very tight holiday playlist.
> They will play classics like Andy Williams, Perry Como, and
> Bing Crosby, but they will only play their 'holiday' songs.
>
> I seldom actually hear a Christmas Carol on that station. I
> recall that the Holiday Lite used to sound better.
>
> This station really sounds like a travesty this year. There
> is no variety, and dare I say they took out the most
> important part of Christmas?
>
> WMBI has done a much better job with Christmas music, though
> I think they lean too much to the Christian Contemporary
> acts. They might as well just play an unlimited Christmas
> playlist, because they would still be the only station
> actually playing Christmas music (putting Christmas in its
> true meaning).
>
> They could go from the Temptations, Bing Crosby, back to
> Bryan Duncan or Kathy Troccoli and still sound better than
> the Holiday Lite.
>
> I have yet to hear "The First Noel" "O little Town of
> Bethlehem" or any of those songs. Literally the only two
> Christmas Carols that they use (sparingly at that) are "O
> Holy Night" and "Do you Hear what I hear" and a medley
> version of "The Little Drummer Boy". But I haven't heard any
> other true Christmas Carols on WLIT.
>
> It's a travesty!
>

I agree. I can hear 5 stations playing all Christmas music, & they all have very tight playlists. Milwaukee's WOKY (AM 920) seems to have the most traditional carols in they playlist. I have a more diverse Christmas library than all 5 stations combined will ever play. I work at a chain retail store, & we can't even mention the C word. How can we not talk about what we make our most money from? Am I missing something?

Merry Christmas to all. <P ID="signature">______________
DXer Peter Atkinson</P>
 
> > When WNND (100.3) did
> > > back in 2003 they played a bunch of carol/choir type
> > tracks
> > > but WLIT still got the higher ratings.
> > >
> > And right there is your answer
> >
> I don't get how 24/7 of xmas music can generate ratings.
> I'm suprised that a station can switch during the holidays.
> Maybe because i'm jewish I don't get it. Do people actually
> want to hear the seame songs over and over again by
> different artists?
>

It does generate ratings. There are apparently a lot of people who likes to hear Christmas music 24/7 for a month or so.

To answer your last question, yes.
 
> > I would like to mention that I find the so called
> 'Christmas
> > Music' on WLIT to be very lacking this year.
> > > WOKY Milwaukee) play plenty of carols. When WNND (100.3) did
> back in 2003 they played a bunch of carol/choir type tracks
> but WLIT still got the higher ratings.

Agreed. The list is full of off-cuts instead of just going ahead
and playing the O Holy Night songs (like maybe by Kelly Clarkson
and Mariah Carey!). Hard to take the weird novelty songs. I'd
rather hear Nat singing O Tannenbaum.
 
> I agree. I can hear 5 stations playing all Christmas music,
> & they all have very tight playlists. Milwaukee's WOKY (AM
> 920) seems to have the most traditional carols in they
> playlist. I have a more diverse Christmas library than all
> 5 stations combined will ever play. I work at a chain
> retail store, & we can't even mention the C word. How can we
> not talk about what we make our most money from? Am I
> missing something?
>
> Merry Christmas to all.
>

I'm getting really tired of this systematic "elimination" of Christmas from the holiday season myself! No, we can still wish whomever we want Merry Christmas amongst our family and circle of friends, but like you said wgn, certain retail stores, various government agencies and public (and even a few private) schools won't allow it either. All I can say is, one can never make one religious group "inclusive" by removing mention of other religious groups. This only makes for more strife, NOT less!

Anyway, I hope common sense returns to the American public, because this is what this whole controversy really comes down to.

Merry Christmas to you wgn, as well!
 
I want to be on record as saying that Conservative Evangelical Christians are not the only ones who are lamenting the diappearance of "Merry Christmas".

I remember not too long ago an all-Christmas station would include a true variety of songs and singers, and it would not matter if the songs were to bring into the holidays in general, Santa Claus, Birth of Christ, or songs about winter. They would all be mixed in.

Christmas music used to be beautiful. I used to be able to listen for an entire long drive.

I really liked the "Music of your Life" format for its Christmas selections, but I suppose that format is literally dying (because the listeners are).

So what are we left with? This jazzy broadway sound of sleigh ride, or this sassy-seductive version of Santa Baby. I cannot stomach the Lite. Now I am in a place where KEZK is the holiday station, and that station too has gone down as far as Christmas selection is concerned, compared to what they once sounded like. There were some good stations in central Illinois, driving down 55.

The consultant recommending this move that all holiday stations remove as much of Christmas as possible are dead wrong. This is not how we celebrate Christmas.

To those who do not celebrate Christmas, I would even be more happy to hear songs from those traditions included with Christmas Carols, than to hear Santa Baby, or Rockin around the Christmas Tree ad nauseum.


And I thought for a moment it was just me that was nuts.
 
I agree, Christmas seems to be replaced by Holiday.
At least the Lite does mention the word Christmas, and I have heard some songs that convey the Christmas message.
It's too bad that political correctnes has robbed us of our heritage regarding Christmas. It is rapidly becoming an orgy of materialism. This is being reflected in the decreasing frequency of Christmas Carols, and increasing frequency of songs about getting a special gift, in the Christmas mix on the radio.

> > I would like to mention that I find the so called
> 'Christmas
> > Music' on WLIT to be very lacking this year.
> >
> > The station seems to have a very tight holiday playlist.
> > They will play classics like Andy Williams, Perry Como,
> and
> > Bing Crosby, but they will only play their 'holiday'
> songs.
> >
> > I seldom actually hear a Christmas Carol on that station.
> I
> > recall that the Holiday Lite used to sound better.
> >
> > This station really sounds like a travesty this year.
> There
> > is no variety, and dare I say they took out the most
> > important part of Christmas?
> >
> > WMBI has done a much better job with Christmas music,
> though
> > I think they lean too much to the Christian Contemporary
> > acts. They might as well just play an unlimited Christmas
> > playlist, because they would still be the only station
> > actually playing Christmas music (putting Christmas in its
>
> > true meaning).
> >
> > They could go from the Temptations, Bing Crosby, back to
> > Bryan Duncan or Kathy Troccoli and still sound better than
>
> > the Holiday Lite.
> >
> > I have yet to hear "The First Noel" "O little Town of
> > Bethlehem" or any of those songs. Literally the only two
> > Christmas Carols that they use (sparingly at that) are "O
> > Holy Night" and "Do you Hear what I hear" and a medley
> > version of "The Little Drummer Boy". But I haven't heard
> any
> > other true Christmas Carols on WLIT.
> >
> > It's a travesty!
> >
>
> I agree. I can hear 5 stations playing all Christmas music,
> & they all have very tight playlists. Milwaukee's WOKY (AM
> 920) seems to have the most traditional carols in they
> playlist. I have a more diverse Christmas library than all
> 5 stations combined will ever play. I work at a chain
> retail store, & we can't even mention the C word. How can we
> not talk about what we make our most money from? Am I
> missing something?
>
> Merry Christmas to all.
>
 
You wouldn't believe how well it actually does!

The "Holiday Lite" was a monster last year...even with another station doing all christmas...WNND never saw the spikes that WLIT gets...but what they get is huge!

The chicks really dig on it....plus all the stores that turn them on....wait til the people meter....all christmas will start in July!
 
> You wouldn't believe how well it actually does!
>
> The "Holiday Lite" was a monster last year...even with
> another station doing all christmas...WNND never saw the
> spikes that WLIT gets...but what they get is huge!
>
> The chicks really dig on it....plus all the stores that turn
> them on....wait til the people meter....all christmas will
> start in July!

On the first People Meter study in Houston, an oldies station flipped to all-Christmas a few days before Thanksgiving. The study showed that the station (KODA 99.1) gained no additional listeners until the day of Thanksgiving. It was in Radio and Records a few days ago.

So rather than starting in July, perhaps (read: hopefully) the study will inspire stations to flip to the format later rather than earlier.
 
Playing the tunage first

I'll spill the beans on this one:

Programming Christmas music doesn't so much reflect what the listener wants, but moreso of a competitive race for the stations in town to become "The Christmas Station"

In the minds of the listener, whoever flips first will get the attention. Even if it is "I can't believe they're playing this already!" they know that when they're eventually in the Chrismas mood, the station they will most likely remember is the one they first noticed it on. The one with the most "buzz"

Because Christmas music is such a gigantic thing, the race is on to become the one with the official "Christmas brand" in the market.






> > You wouldn't believe how well it actually does!
> >
> > The "Holiday Lite" was a monster last year...even with
> > another station doing all christmas...WNND never saw the
> > spikes that WLIT gets...but what they get is huge!
> >
> > The chicks really dig on it....plus all the stores that
> turn
> > them on....wait til the people meter....all christmas will
>
> > start in July!
>
> On the first People Meter study in Houston, an oldies
> station flipped to all-Christmas a few days before
> Thanksgiving. The study showed that the station (KODA 99.1)
> gained no additional listeners until the day of
> Thanksgiving. It was in Radio and Records a few days ago.
>
> So rather than starting in July, perhaps (read: hopefully)
> the study will inspire stations to flip to the format later
> rather than earlier.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
The power is yours!</P>
 
clarifying

Just realized that I should probably clarify the first paragraph:

Christmas music is a big hit with listeners, and programming Christmas music on November 1st isn't necessarily something the listeners demanded. However, it is a necessity for stations in a competitive market to become "The Christmas Station" in the minds of listeners. As such, stations start flipping sooner and sooner to one up each other.


> I'll spill the beans on this one:
>
> Programming Christmas music doesn't so much reflect what the
> listener wants, but moreso of a competitive race for the
> stations in town to become "The Christmas Station"
>
> In the minds of the listener, whoever flips first will get
> the attention. Even if it is "I can't believe they're
> playing this already!" they know that when they're
> eventually in the Chrismas mood, the station they will most
> likely remember is the one they first noticed it on. The
> one with the most "buzz"
>
> Because Christmas music is such a gigantic thing, the race
> is on to become the one with the official "Christmas brand"
> in the market.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > > You wouldn't believe how well it actually does!
> > >
> > > The "Holiday Lite" was a monster last year...even with
> > > another station doing all christmas...WNND never saw the
>
> > > spikes that WLIT gets...but what they get is huge!
> > >
> > > The chicks really dig on it....plus all the stores that
> > turn
> > > them on....wait til the people meter....all christmas
> will
> >
> > > start in July!
> >
> > On the first People Meter study in Houston, an oldies
> > station flipped to all-Christmas a few days before
> > Thanksgiving. The study showed that the station (KODA
> 99.1)
> > gained no additional listeners until the day of
> > Thanksgiving. It was in Radio and Records a few days ago.
> >
> > So rather than starting in July, perhaps (read: hopefully)
>
> > the study will inspire stations to flip to the format
> later
> > rather than earlier.
> >
>
<P ID="signature">______________
The power is yours!</P>
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom