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It is the 25th,time for some X-Mas music talk!

You're right about WODS and WROR. However, I'm listening to WXLO right now, and at this moment, they are NOT playing Christmas music. I don't get WORC so I don't know about them. But I think they could go eventually. But I think it's usually WSRS that does it in Worcester.
 
Which station played regular format during the day & Christmas music after 6:pM last year?
Was that WXLO?
Surprised about WROR.
What about WCRB?Wouldn't they bill better if the played a classical Christmas?
It would be a good alternative to grandma getting killed by rudolph & all the silly stuff.
 
One newspaper article (in today's Herald, I think) said that WODS switched earlier than
expected because they were getting phone calls urging them to do it from people who
couldn't wait.

The owners! The sales managers! The investors! The advertisers! They all wanted them to switch, and now! :)
And yes, maybe some listeners. And Mr. Freberg was indeed right: Chri$tma$ has 2 S's
in it and they're both dollar signs!
 
One newspaper article (in today's Herald, I think) said that WODS switched earlier than
expected because they were getting phone calls urging them to do it from people who
couldn't wait.

The owners! The sales managers! The investors! The advertisers! They all wanted them to switch, and now!
And yes, maybe some listeners. And Mr. Freberg was indeed right: Chri$tma$ has 2 S's
in it and they're both dollar signs!


Christmas music is the Number 1 ratings winner of any format tweak there is. I'm sure the sales department and the advertisers love it, but that's because it drives the audience upwards. With this being so, it's not much of a reach to think that listeners were also requesting it, since a big chunk of them appear to look forward to it.

Not exactly radio rocket science.

Regards,
TSB
 
freqlost said:
Which station played regular format during the day & Christmas music after 6:pM last year?
Was that WXLO?
Surprised about WROR.
What about WCRB?Wouldn't they bill better if the played a classical Christmas?
It would be a good alternative to grandma getting killed by rudolph & all the silly stuff.

That may have been WSRS. They have Delilah (another reason to throw up!) at night.
 
TSBench said:
With this being so, it's not much of a reach to think that listeners were also requesting it, since a big chunk of them appear to look forward to it.

You really think it's listeners? I'm guessing it's stores who play it to get people thinking about shopping for Christmas. Are they the listeners? Well, their employees are, but I but they are not the ones who called in asking for it.... And, the shoppers, I doubt they were calling either... No facts here, just my hunch.
 
You really think it's listeners?

As I posted, I don't think it's much of a stretch to believe that listeners could well be requesting the music. When a station gets a 37% bump in listenership by breaking format, (besides all the added listeners, that number also includes everyone who replaced existing listeners who jumped due to the break) it's pretty impressive.

I'm guessing it's stores who play it to get people thinking about shopping for Christmas.

I don't know any store that plays 'ODS for background music, which doesn't mean some don't, only that I don't know of any that do. Most major stores hesitate to play commercial radio stations for background music because they don't want their shoppers exposed to commercials from the competition, so they go with commercial-free music services formulated to get people to stay in the aisles longer and buy more, especially produced programming with their own advertising messages built in (as does Lowes), or CDs (you can probably buy 8 hours of Christmas music on CD for $20.) If I was a station advertiser trying to knock down females for the season, I wouldn't object to my spots being played to that larger audience, regardless of whether I was going to be using the station as background or not because, once the customers are in the store, the work of the ad messages has been done.

Are they the listeners? Well, their employees are, but I but they are not the ones who called in asking for it.

Agreed. For the most part the stores don't need it, ror utilize it inside the stores.

... And, the shoppers, I doubt they were calling either... No facts here, just my hunch.

Well, there is no way of knowing without access to WODS' telephone logs. But with anything proven to be that popular (and some stations report that Christmas tunes as a group test better than just about anything else they program) it's easier to make the case that they do rather than that they don't. Perhaps not in the numbers that PDs would have you believe, but hyperbole in radio station publicity is not exactly an unknown phenomenon.

Regards,
TSB
 
TSBench said:
I don't know any store that plays 'ODS for background music, which doesn't mean some don't, only that I don't know of any that do. Most major stores hesitate to play commercial radio stations for background music because they don't want their shoppers exposed to commercials from the competition, so they go with commercial-free music services formulated to get people to stay in the aisles longer and buy more, especially produced programming with their own advertising messages built in (as does Lowes), or CDs (you can probably buy 8 hours of Christmas music on CD for $20.) If I was a station advertiser trying to knock down females for the season, I wouldn't object to my spots being played to that larger audience, regardless of whether I was going to be using the station as background or not because, once the customers are in the store, the work of the ad messages has been done.

I wasn't thinking of large stores like Lowes or Home Depot. Was thinking of the gazillions of small businesses out there that don't have their own in-store programming - gift shops, personal services (salons), doctor's offices, etc where background radio music would get a lot of passive listeners (which incidently, do better in PPM, if I recall correctly). One place I go was playing music and when I asked what station it was, turned out it was satellite radio. I would think small retailers would be interested in Christmas music. Of course they could just play cd's, but maybe they don't want to bother with it or haven't gotten around to installing alternatives in the store yet...

I just can't think of a single person I have ever known in my entire life that wants to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. Not a one. (Seems like two-timing to me. Personally I think there oughta be a law!!!) But, what the heck do I know?

TSBench said:
hyperbole in radio station publicity is not exactly an unknown phenomenon.

;D
 
I was scanning the radio dial while driving home earlier tonite (about 845pm-ish, I think) and came across some Christmas music on 104.5 WXLO/Worcester. Turns out it was just that one song so I'd say they (and some others) are starting to sprinkle some Christmas music in here and there (maybe 1 or 2 an hour).

96.1 WSRS/Worcester has Delilah's syndicated show (as mentioned earlier in the thread) and for the 3 1/2 seconds I listened to it, she was playing Christmas music.

There was another station out there on which I'm pretty sure I heard Christmas music here and there (cant remember which one or ones) but no complete flips. Mix 98.5 was doing their 80s weekend which I enjoyed.
 
WSRS is all-Christmas as of yesterday at 9 am. Mix 98.5 is doing their "Thanksgiving Class Reunion." I have to say I'm glad that Magic 106.7 isn't doing it until a week before Christmas.
 
Well, in the current WODS/Dale Dorman thread started by me (Dale Dorman is apparently on the beach), I mention (via BRW.com) that WODS starts a Secret Santa promotion on Monday. So WODS may go all-Christmas much earlier than last year (Nov 12).

Let's hope WROR does not.
 
WMC2006 said:
Well, in the current WODS/Dale Dorman thread started by me (Dale Dorman is apparently on the beach), I mention (via BRW.com) that WODS starts a Secret Santa promotion on Monday. So WODS may go all-Christmas much earlier than last year (Nov 12).

Let's hope WROR does not.

Considering that WROR's Christmas music actually paid off in the ratings last year, and they did that Christmas in July thing, I would expect them to go all-Christmas again this year.
 
As already stated, WODS's Secret Santa promotion begins tomorrow (Monday Sept 15th). I'm betting on some Christmas tunes mixed in to the regular format. Unless some other station panics and decides to go all Christmas because of WODS. Isn't that what happened last year?? WROR was actually planning on going all Christmas something like a week later or right after Thanksgiving but WODS jumped early on Nov 12th at 530am so WROR flipped at around 7am.

S0.....on WODS, a Christmas tune mixed in starting tomorrow. Then early November, All Christmas, along with WROR, WSRS (Worcester), Magic 106.7 (mixed in over the air/all Christmas online).

You heard it here first. Or second. ;D
 
If they start it this soon, I wonder how long it will be before we finally start seeing an "all Christmas" format backlash instead?
 
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