It Christmas In Columbus

[Radioma18]

933 wlzt flipped to Christmas music at 7am this morning.

 

[alans613]

BAH HUMBUG! It's waaaaay too early for Christmas music anywhere.

 

[xmusicmatt]

BAH HUMBUG! It's waaaaay too early for Christmas music anywhere.

One station in Columbus will not go Christmas until Thanskgiving... 104.9 The River has decided not to go Christmas early this year.

 

[gabigley1]

One station in Columbus will not go Christmas until Thanskgiving... 104.9 The River has decided not to go Christmas early this year.

This is the video report that mentioned 104.9 won't go Christmas until Thanksgiving. Click here to download this video report:
http://www.abc6onyourside.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/wsyx_vid_1263.shtml They mentioned 93.3 and some store merchants
are to blame for bringing Christmas to Columbus way to early this year. At the end of this video report, the reporter is shown turning the volume down on 93.3's Christmas music. Hint to 93.3?

 

[MikeStandardsFromIndiana]

Columbus should be happy that they didnt get the honor of the first Christmas music station honors this year as that went to WAKW in Cincinnati followed by KATZ in St Louis

 

[Tri-State Media]

Correct. WAKW was, it appears, the first non-HD station to go all-Christmas.

A couple HD subchannels in other cities did before WAKW, but I have to dig to find out which...

 

[gabigley1]

Columbus should be happy that they didnt get the honor of the first Christmas music station honors this year as that went to WAKW in Cincinnati followed by KATZ in St Louis

For argument sake, we could say Columbus has the first non stunting and non Religious formatted radio station to go to all Christmas music.
KATZ is currently stunting with Christmas music until a new format is unveiled around the end of December. WAKW is a Religious formatted
radio station in Cincinnati, also on 93.3.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Columbus should be happy that they didnt get the honor of the first Christmas music station honors this year as that went to WAKW in Cincinnati followed by KATZ in St Louis

For argument sake, we could say Columbus has the first non stunting and non Religious formatted radio station to go to all Christmas music.
KATZ is currently stunting with Christmas music until a new format is unveiled around the end of December. WAKW is a Religious formatted
radio station in Cincinnati, also on 93.3.

93.3 is such a disaster this is about the only move that makes sense for them.

The Channel 6 report was good publicity for both 104.9 and 93.3, the former being an asset by providing a unique service (for the commercial FM band, anyway), and the latter being a pathetic, Sunny-duplicating waste of the first REALLY good new FM signal to hit this good-signal-deficient market in 45 years. 93.3 is a disgrace and an embarrassment.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Sorry, somehow duplicated post.  Well,  at least my duplication doesn't waste a valuable community and business resource like 93.3 does.

 

[Rusty Blades]

104.9 provides a unique service? Right. There sure aren't many christian stations out there, are there?

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

104.9 provides a unique service? Right. There sure aren't many christian stations out there, are there?

Note that I limited my statement to the commercial FM band. Add in non-coms and AM, and Columbus definitely has way too many religious outlets. Too bad 91.5 didn't stick with 80's or some other secular music format. As Sean Ross wrote recently on Radio-Info, there is an increasing trend toward usually-commercial music formats showing up on non-coms in markets where there are obvious holes. Columbus would qualify in spades on the latter count.

Speaking of religious stations, last night I was trying to recall whether Saga still owned WVKO when it was doing gospel. I believe the answer is yes, but I'm not sure. Anyone?

 

[SeanMGilbow]

Yes

 

[xmusicmatt]

104.9 provides a unique service? Right. There sure aren't many christian stations out there, are there?

Name another CCM (Christian AC) station in this market doing 24/7 Music??? I think 104.9 The River is the only one that qualifies for that.

You can try to label all the Christian stations together but they are not all the same..

Now on the other hand? Do we really need to hear NPR's "All Things Considered" on AM 820 WOSU, 89.7 FM WOSU and 90.5 WCBE... Talk about repeative...

Or the country stations in this market ... I would say The River is pretty unique in what their doing even if its a Christian style format.

Matt

 

[V.Riley]

I stopped listening to 104.9 The River when they let Jake Sommers go, so I won't comment about them.

As for the multiple NPR "All Things Considered", I say keep it on 90.5 WCBE, and as for 89.7 FM WOSU can do Buckeye sports coverage. They obviously have the home field advantage. As for AM 820 WOSU.... do they still make AM radio's? ;D Just kidding.

Of course for Country music, I think we have too many stations in the area with this format. But that is just my opinion.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

104.9 provides a unique service?  Right.  There sure aren't many christian stations out there, are there?

Name another CCM (Christian AC) station in this market doing 24/7 Music???   I think 104.9 The River is the only one that qualifies for that.   

You can try to label all the Christian stations together but they are not all the same..

Now on the other hand?  Do we really need to hear NPR's "All Things Considered" on AM 820 WOSU, 89.7 FM WOSU and 90.5 WCBE... Talk about repeative...

Or the country stations in this market ... I would say The River is pretty unique in what their doing even if its a Christian style format.

Matt

Far be it from me to defend the amount of Country in Columbus.  In fact, the Country saturation is absurd and frustrating.  But at least Country's a more mainstream format than Christian, and some of the Country stations are filling different niches just like the Christian stations.  We have mainstream country on COL, classic country on WHOK, hot country on Wink, etc.  So I don't see the logic in concluding there is room for more Christian at the same time you conclude that there's too much Country. Especially when there are many niches of various pop formats going unfilled here, and even worse the entire absence of highly successful, mainstream formats like classic hits.

If you include AM and FM, and both commercial and non-commercial, Columbus already has a highly disproportionate number of religious stations for its size -- more than a huge market like Chicago -- just as there is too much Country, and yes, too much NPR.  Come on -- WCVO, WUFM, WHKC, 1580, Joy 106, WRFD...and I'm probably forgetting something.

Put another way, your reply seems to amount to, "it's ridiculous to have so many stations that are niches of a single format -- unless it's the one I like."

 

[SeanMGilbow]

Getting us back on topic...Delilah began playing holiday tunes tonight on Sunny. Whether it's happening nationally or not I cannot say.

 

[xmusicmatt]

Getting us back on topic...Delilah began playing holiday tunes tonight on Sunny. Whether it's happening nationally or not I cannot say.

Deliliah offers multiple feeds in Nov.. Her "Holiday" format as Premere calls it launched nov 1st... Stations can choose that or an the normal format.. Sunny appears to have taken the Holiday format from the XDS.

 

[xmusicmatt]

Put another way, your reply seems to amount to, "it's ridiculous to have so many stations that are niches of a single format -- unless it's the one I like."

I wasn't trying to say we needed more Christian stations I just was nearly stating that they are not all created equal.. and I agree the Country stations are not created equal either. Your statement tends to be true of most who visit radio info "I dont like your choice in format so it shouldnt be on" I think the River has place in Columbus as much as WCRS does or WNCI.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Put another way, your reply seems to amount to, "it's ridiculous to have so many stations that are niches of a single format -- unless it's the one I like."

I wasn't trying to say we needed more Christian stations I just was nearly stating that they are not all created equal.. and I agree the Country stations are not created equal either. Your statement tends to be true of most who visit radio info "I dont like your choice in format so it shouldnt be on" I think the River has place in Columbus as much as WCRS does or WNCI.

So do I. In an earlier post I said the River was an asset for the market that provided a unique service for the commercial FM band, unlike "me-too" AC 93.3. So I guess we actually agree on a lot, even if we disagree on the question of whether Columbus already has more than enough religious outlets overall.

 

[SeanMGilbow]

Sunny 95 is airing a holiday music preview weekend.