• 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

Lite FM now all-Christmas?

J

jal

Guest
I don't know if it is just a weekend stunt or not, but WLTM/94.9 Lite FM is playing all-Christmas music as I speak.

Last year, Lite did play all-Christmas only on weekends, and regular AC during the week until the Monday of Thanksgiving, when they went all-Christmas 24/7 until December 25th. That Friday, WSB-FM/B98.5 went all-Christmas.

Clear Channel sister AC WNIC Detroit has already flipped (last week) to all-Christmas until 12/25. A Clear-Channel AC in the midwest flipped to all-Christmas back in October. I wonder if Lite is flipping to all-Chrstmas until 12/25?

If Lite does not flip totally this weekend, when will they? If they flip too early, it could cause problems for them. And when they do, will B98.5 follow and when?

They just keep getting earlier and eariler every year.
 
>
> They just keep getting earlier and eariler every year.
>

I heard that stations may doing mainly for more $$ or a ratings spike, but going to early may hurt them. By next year we'll be hearing "Home for the Holidays" in mid October!<P ID="signature">______________
The Place for the Latest Happenings in Radio
www.freewebs.com/radiostuffandnews
</P>
 
Lite doing xmas "teaser" weekends

> >
> > They just keep getting earlier and eariler every year.
> >
>
> I heard that stations may doing mainly for more $$ or a
> ratings spike, but going to early may hurt them. By next
> year we'll be hearing "Home for the Holidays" in mid
> October!
>
As they have in past years, Lite is merely doing "teaser" weekends the next couple of weeks. The exact day they launch xmas on weekdays has changed each year but is generally around Thanksgiving.
 
Re: Lite doing xmas "teaser" weekends

> > I heard that stations may doing mainly for more $$ or a
> > ratings spike, but going to early may hurt them. By next
> > year we'll be hearing "Home for the Holidays" in mid
> > October!

104.7 in Charlotte once went all Christmas in October. No I'm not joking! After the holidays, they had a new format. Is this a good time for B-98.5 to take over the Jack AC format? (lol) If someone wanted to steal Lite's format, Thanksgiving is the time to do it. Again, I'm surprised no one tries this to the stations that go all Christmas. A slight tweak and a good month long ad campaign as the only AC in the market.

I often get disappointed in WFSH for flipping to secular "X-mas" music. Some of it is far from Christian in lyrics. I respect J-93.3 for staying CCM during the holidays and keeping their teaching programs. It shows Christ is the center at WVFJ and money is the center at WFSH. Something intresting to think about this holiday season as the Fish spins materialistic "Santa Baby."<P ID="signature">______________
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.winstonsalemskyscrapers.com>http://www.winstonsalemskyscrapers.com</a></P>
 
Re: Lite doing xmas "teaser" weekends

> I often get disappointed in WFSH for flipping to secular
> "X-mas" music. Some of it is far from Christian in lyrics. I
> respect J-93.3 for staying CCM during the holidays and
> keeping their teaching programs. It shows Christ is the
> center at WVFJ and money is the center at WFSH. Something
> intresting to think about this holiday season as the Fish
> spins materialistic "Santa Baby."

I don't see anything wrong with this. No doubt that many pople that have not listened before will tune in and some of them might stick around after Christmas for what the Fish usually plays. J will not get as many new listeners to "convert" after Christmas.


<P ID="signature">______________
In Harmony
From the Bop Shop,
Brian "BD Bopper"</P>
 
Re: Lite doing xmas "teaser" weekends

> > I often get disappointed in WFSH for flipping to secular
> > "X-mas" music. Some of it is far from Christian in lyrics.

Considering that nearly all of the music (save for Frosty The Snowman) is Christian in relation to Christmas, and that neither is playing Red Peters, how can Christmas music be un-Christian.

CCM artist Natalie Grant sings "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" on her new Christmas album. Is that too secular for J-93.3? From what I see here, probably.

> I
> > respect J-93.3 for staying CCM during the holidays and
> > keeping their teaching programs. It shows Christ is the
> > center at WVFJ and money is the center at WFSH. Something
> > intresting to think about this holiday season as the Fish
> > spins materialistic "Santa Baby."

Perhaps entertaining the listeners with music themed around Christmas, a Christian holiday, is the goal for WFSH. Must Michael W. Smith sing Christmas songs in order for them to be accepted by J?

And either way, WVFJ and WFSH are both commercial stations. It's not as if either one is non-profit and owned by people who do not take solitation for spreading Christianity. Salem may get a bad rap much of the time, but they know how to fully entertain the listeners and keep them tuned in. By doing this, they will certainly have more success in their secondary line-of-work, converting listeners.

And Santa Baby is probably the most materialistic song there is. It's like saying a R/CHR station plays horribly offensive music by giving only one song, Eminem's "A** Like That". Is "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" too secular as well?

> I don't see anything wrong with this. No doubt that many
> pople that have not listened before will tune in and some of
> them might stick around after Christmas for what the Fish
> usually plays. J will not get as many new listeners to
> "convert" after Christmas.

As I said above, I couldn't agree more.
 
> >
> > They just keep getting earlier and eariler every year.
> >
>
> I heard that stations may doing mainly for more $$ or a
> ratings spike, but going to early may hurt them. By next
> year we'll be hearing "Home for the Holidays" in mid
> October!
>
It is truly ridiculous............................
 
Re: Lite doing xmas "teaser" weekends

The same person who says this is ok, is the same person who says, without feeling bad about it, they don't need to go to church if they are saved. It's the same person who tells dirty jokes and uses foul language often. There are some who go to church and are like that and they don't feel convicted for those actions. Of course everyone struggles with the flesh, but Christians everywhere should know what is happening to Christmas. Christians and Christian organizations should fight to protect the holiday's true meaning. For those who view Christianity as a life style, WFSH's "helping" turn the holiday that celebrates the birth of our Lord and Savior further from it's true meaning into a gifts and Santa day for money & ratings is a bad choice. Making Christmas a stressed out shopping and I want this or that day instead of reflecting on the birth of Jesus is one of the biggest problems Christians face during the holidays. I've worked in radio and I know exactly why they do it. I'm sure many listeners don't though. I know from Stuart Epperson what is in control at Salem. Some formats, like Christian formats, carry a few extra restrictions on what you can and can't do. This is one of them. Giving is the holiday season. A list for Santa is not. The Fish should be the station reminding everyone of this as they spin the true music of Christmas. If they want to flip to Christmas music for half a book, they should do it right and find songs related to the true meaning of the season. Yes, the Fish has played Santa Baby. In my personal opinion, they shouldn't flip to secular Christmas music, but they will for money. Money keeps the lights on.<P ID="signature">______________
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.winstonsalemskyscrapers.com>http://www.winstonsalemskyscrapers.com</a></P>
 
Re: Lite doing xmas "teaser" weekends

> The same person who says this is ok, is the same person who
> says, without feeling bad about it, they don't need to go to
> church if they are saved. It's the same person who tells
> dirty jokes and uses foul language often. There are some who
> go to church and are like that and they don't feel convicted
> for those actions. Of course everyone struggles with the
> flesh, but Christians everywhere should know what is
> happening to Christmas. Christians and Christian
> organizations should fight to protect the holiday's true
> meaning. For those who view Christianity as a life style,
> WFSH's "helping" turn the holiday that celebrates the birth
> of our Lord and Savior further from it's true meaning into a
> gifts and Santa day for money & ratings is a bad choice.
> Making Christmas a stressed out shopping and I want this or
> that day instead of reflecting on the birth of Jesus is one
> of the biggest problems Christians face during the holidays.
> I've worked in radio and I know exactly why they do it. I'm
> sure many listeners don't though. I know from Stuart
> Epperson what is in control at Salem. Some formats, like
> Christian formats, carry a few extra restrictions on what
> you can and can't do. This is one of them. Giving is the
> holiday season. A list for Santa is not. The Fish should be
> the station reminding everyone of this as they spin the true
> music of Christmas. If they want to flip to Christmas music
> for half a book, they should do it right and find songs
> related to the true meaning of the season. Yes, the Fish has
> played Santa Baby. In my personal opinion, they shouldn't
> flip to secular Christmas music, but they will for money.
> Money keeps the lights on.
>

You make very good points and I don't disagree. But I think it's clear that Fish long ago gave up being a Christian station. Instead, they position themselves as "family friendly." That's fine, but it's not the same as being Christian. Either you're a Christian station, or you're not...there's no in-between. I've felt for a long time that they've pretty much taken the Christian community for a ride...talking the talk, but not walking the walk.
They want credit for being a Christian station, but not the responsibilities that go along with that.
 
Re: Lite doing xmas "teaser" weekends

According to Yes.com, WLTM-94.9 has gone back to it's regular format as of 3 P.M. today (November 6th).

On the other hand, is that "regular" music part of a syndicated show?

By doing this, WLTM leaves itself open for WSB-98.5 (or anyone else) to make the flip to all-Christmas (perhaps tomorrow morning) and steal a little of WLTM's thunder, which would force the latter to immediately go all-Christmas, even if they had only planned to run all-Christmas weekends for a couple of weeks and not go 24/7 All-Christmas until Thanksgiving (give or take a week either way).

Remember this: WLTM is A Christmas Channel (Clear Channel) Property. CC is the most agressive company as regards programming all-Christmas formats. In Charlotte, another station beat their soft AC (WLYT-102.9) in launching an all-Christmas format last Friday (November 4th). WLYT made their own flip 40 minutes later!
 
> I don't know if it is just a weekend stunt or not, but
> WLTM/94.9 Lite FM is playing all-Christmas music as I speak.
>

When Lite does go all Christmas, there will be an obvious hole in the market for an all-Chanukah format. Some smart owner will realize the ratings benefits of being the only station played in Goldberg's Deli and the Toco Hills Bagel Palace.
 
Re: Lite doing xmas "teaser" weekends

> For those who view Christianity as a life style,
> WFSH's "helping" turn the holiday that celebrates the birth
> of our Lord and Savior further from it's true meaning into a
> gifts and Santa day for money & ratings is a bad choice.

I don't get the sense that WFSH is for those who view Christianity as the lifestyle that you describe.

For WFSH and some other Salem CCMs, the station appears to present itself, as Clark2 says, as "family friendly". It appears to aim toward listeners who go to church, have a family, and possibly participate in the church community. However, WFSH listeners are not so tied to teachings that if The Fish played "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", they would immediately change stations because the song does not not mention any religious connection.

The Fish and J are different stations, and Atlanta's largely Christian population enables the two CCMs to target different audiences. For alternate stations, WVFJ listeners likely tune to WNIV (as well as WFSH). WFSH listeners are likely to tune to WLTM (as well as WVFJ).

> I know from Stuart
> Epperson what is in control at Salem. Some formats, like
> Christian formats, carry a few extra restrictions on what
> you can and can't do. This is one of them.

Obviously, profits are king at Salem. Everyone knows this, but you can't forget that J-93.3 is a commercial station too.

And of course, as many others have said, a 24/7 preaching-through-music format is not going to carry many Christmas listeners into the regular Fish format. And throughout the year, when The Fish plays songs like Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance", they are certainly more likely to add listeners in the name of conversion rather than if they were to play non-stop Casting Crowns.

> Giving is the
> holiday season.

And WFSH plays "The Christmas Shoes".

> A list for Santa is not.

How about a 50/50 mix of giving and receiving songs?

> The Fish should be
> the station reminding everyone of this as they spin the true
> music of Christmas. If they want to flip to Christmas music
> for half a book, they should do it right and find songs
> related to the true meaning of the season.

But they do. They also play songs that fit the giving/receiving.

Christmas music limits a station to a select group of songs. Playing only Christmas songs that mention Jesus would leave so few songs that it would not be a practical format. And what about songs like "Carol of the Bells". Is that too secular, or it is midway between Christian and "Santa Claus"-secular so it's OK?

> Money keeps the lights on.

As it does at WVFJ.
 
Re: Lite doing xmas "teaser" weekends

Here's an interesting idea. listening to WLTM this weekend it struck me. Hearing Christmas songs this early reminded me that Christians should celebrate the meaning for the Season each and every day of the year. Not just on Christmas. I know that's not the intent of playing the music this early but that is the message I got out of it. <P ID="signature">______________
In Harmony
From the Bop Shop,
Brian "BD Bopper"</P>
 
Re: Lite doing xmas "teaser" weekends

> According to Yes.com, WLTM-94.9 has gone back to it's
> regular format as of 3 P.M. today (November 6th).
>
> On the other hand, is that "regular" music part of a
> syndicated show?
>
> By doing this, WLTM leaves itself open for WSB-98.5 (or
> anyone else) to make the flip to all-Christmas (perhaps
> tomorrow morning) and steal a little of WLTM's thunder,
> which would force the latter to immediately go
> all-Christmas, even if they had only planned to run
> all-Christmas weekends for a couple of weeks and not go 24/7
> All-Christmas until Thanksgiving (give or take a week either
> way).
>
> Remember this: WLTM is A Christmas Channel (Clear Channel)
> Property. CC is the most agressive company as regards
> programming all-Christmas formats. In Charlotte, another
> station beat their soft AC (WLYT-102.9) in launching an
> all-Christmas format last Friday (November 4th). WLYT made
> their own flip 40 minutes later!


Very interesting point but this has been per normal for the past three years. Lite plays teaser weekends...with no other stations following it. A few years back WSB FM did do Christmas music during Thanskgiving weekend but went back to normal until a week before Christmas (it was very strange). That same year WLTM was beat out by WLKQ who was using the season as a springboard to a image change, and eventually a format change late on in the Spring. No mater what WLTM has done, the Christmas competition has kept to its date of Thanksgiving weekend (the competition meaning WFSH and all the other Christian stations)
<P ID="signature">______________
In Harmony
From the Bop Shop,
Brian "BD Bopper"</P>
 
Re: Lite doing xmas "teaser" weekends

> Here's an interesting idea. listening to WLTM this weekend
> it struck me. Hearing Christmas songs this early reminded
> me that Christians should celebrate the meaning for the
> Season each and every day of the year. Not just on
> Christmas. I know that's not the intent of playing the
> music this early but that is the message I got out of it.
>


Well Said, Well Said Indeed. And besides, why not celebrate christmas all yr
round.. Tell those you love all year, that you love them, and even if its small things, hey , heres lunch, why because, your special.. well said young man..
<P ID="signature">______________
"Am Top 40 radio was the best"/Long Live 79 WQXI
Atlanta Georgia...........</P>
 
Re: Lite doing xmas "teaser" weekends

Agreed. However, one point: Fish NEVER played "Santa Baby".

> > > I often get disappointed in WFSH for flipping to secular
>
> > > "X-mas" music. Some of it is far from Christian in
> lyrics.
>
> Considering that nearly all of the music (save for Frosty
> The Snowman) is Christian in relation to Christmas, and that
> neither is playing Red Peters, how can Christmas music be
> un-Christian.
>
> CCM artist Natalie Grant sings "Santa Claus Is Coming To
> Town" on her new Christmas album. Is that too secular for
> J-93.3? From what I see here, probably.
>
> > I
> > > respect J-93.3 for staying CCM during the holidays and
> > > keeping their teaching programs. It shows Christ is the
> > > center at WVFJ and money is the center at WFSH.
> Something
> > > intresting to think about this holiday season as the
> Fish
> > > spins materialistic "Santa Baby."
>
> Perhaps entertaining the listeners with music themed around
> Christmas, a Christian holiday, is the goal for WFSH. Must
> Michael W. Smith sing Christmas songs in order for them to
> be accepted by J?
>
> And either way, WVFJ and WFSH are both commercial stations.
> It's not as if either one is non-profit and owned by people
> who do not take solitation for spreading Christianity. Salem
> may get a bad rap much of the time, but they know how to
> fully entertain the listeners and keep them tuned in. By
> doing this, they will certainly have more success in their
> secondary line-of-work, converting listeners.
>
> And Santa Baby is probably the most materialistic song there
> is. It's like saying a R/CHR station plays horribly
> offensive music by giving only one song, Eminem's "A** Like
> That". Is "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" too secular
> as well?
>
> > I don't see anything wrong with this. No doubt that many
> > pople that have not listened before will tune in and some
> of
> > them might stick around after Christmas for what the Fish
> > usually plays. J will not get as many new listeners to
> > "convert" after Christmas.
>
> As I said above, I couldn't agree more.
>
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom