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Noticed TFM has gone all Christmas on T-giving

  • Thread starter TightwadSquarepants
  • Start date

T

TightwadSquarepants

Guest
Just doing the dial scan this afternoon and I noticed that WTFM had gone all Christmas on Thanksgiving day. Just wondering if they are planning on going all Christmas music til the 25th. If they do, feels a little overkill. I understand why Bristol Broadcasting did it prior to flipping Jo-993 to Z-Rock. A little bump in your winter book before a HUGE format flip, but if you ain't planning on flipping (and they aren't...I think we all know that), why do this? When you are always a solid three, sometimes slipping into the 2 position, don't mess with relative "success." And my vote goes to Steve Mann to be the next PD. Dave Barnett could also do a good job, I believe. David, you have good people in the building who can do that job. Let them help you out. I say that with all sincerity.
 
I'll put my bet on a complete flip. This sounds too familiar.
I've seen this more than once.
It will be interesting to watch.
 
Didn't they do that at the same time last year? Or maybe it was a little bit later...I can't rightly remember, but I do remember they were the first ones to do that last year. I honestly don't see a format flip but, if they did, in what direction would they go?
 
AC's do this all across the country. It has proven to make some gains in the fall book, for the most part. In some other markets the race to do the Christmas music gets earlier and earlier, like the holiday stuff in retails stores. Its crazy!!! But apparently works. And most of the AC core artists have full length holiday stuff out, so why not? If I have to hear/play Sir Paul's Wonderful Christmastime one more time, I'm gonna paint a wall with my brain matter.
 
Amen Bored-Op.

The pure Christmas music is just too much and too soon.

Maybe a 1-5 ratio would keep the listener's attention.

A station I worked for previously did that and we had positive feedback.
 
Crossman,
I can't remember if they did a full-flip last year or not. I know they have experimented with all-Christmas from the day AFTER Thanksgiving to Christmas before (I think in 03 or 04). We did it on WKPT two years ago. I think it was fine for that station as we couldn't do anything to hurt our ratings, since we didn't have any to begin with. It just seems like overkill. I like the 1-5 ratio idea. Sure, play Christmas music, but all the time? Don't think so.
And Bored-op is right about them playing certain songs over and over again. But they do it when they are in regular programming with Rod, Elton, Bolton and Celine, so why not when you're playing Christmas songs. I guess the thinking is if playing "Wonderful Christmastime" once is good, then playing it six times a day is even better!
Peace,
TWSP
 
I detest holiday tunes early, but look at the malls and big box stores today, black/green friday. Looks like a bunch of people are already thinking about the holidays. And have been for a week or two. At some point, a smart AC programmer will set up a selector and treat Mid-Nov - Jan 1, like a whole new format. Enough new holiday music comes out every year in AC to pull it off, with current/new holiday music rotations back through gold. But more fundamentally, Everyone knows where to go for The Holidays, when they want it. I bet by 12/24, most all radio's are on TFM. Smart AC programming. Diary's are out at least through then....as ARB begs for returns.
 
This morning I heard Taylor talking about HER family being in town and how wonderful it was for HER family to get a chance to hear HER on the radio.
We don't want to hear this crap. That's too personal.
We could give a rat's a** whether HER family got to hear HER or not.
Shut up Taylor - you are so into yourself - and besides that you are BORING!!!

And if it was your stupid idea to program Christmas music this early, that shows how much you know about "REAL RADIO"
 
This will help TFM to a stellar fall book. It is usually a ratings bonanza for A/C stations..virtually guaranteed to win the female 25-54 demo in the last month of the ratings period. And usually take the month by a wide margin. The songs that are played over and over again are done so for good reason...they are the highest testers in Christmas music tests. Not all versions of "White Christmas" or any Christmas tune for that matter are equal. And "Wonderful Christmastime"...like it or not...is a HUGE tester everywhere. If you want to get the ratings benefit of doing this, you have to flip NO LATER than Thanksgiving. TFM will get about three weeks in the book with all Christmas by flipping now.
 
If TFM did anything right, yeah, I think they could do well with all-Christmas. But management and consultants always find a way to fumble the ball. Best example. I can't take credit for this one, but I do agree with it. Where else would a classic rock station beat an a-c? One of the big reasons QUT beats TFM 4 books out 5 is because HVBC is so cautious about making any moves. They are not proactive, they are reactive, which means they sit and wait for everyone else to make a move. It's not that they don't have the talent in the building cause they do. I don't think there's much difference in the talent level of the jocks at BBC, Citadel and HVBC. The main difference is that while Bristol and Citadel aren't afraid to make moves, Holston is just so guarded and unwilling to try to make a big splash.
When you are number three, I think you have to try to make as much noise to get people to listen to you and TFM just doesn't. I wouldn't be satisfied with my ratings until I got to be a solid number two, and they have the parts to do it. Just not the strategy.
 
Mr. d is correct. Taylor has always talked about Taylor on the air, like a self centered version of Delilah. I suppose no one has ever told her the audience could care less about HER. You better be making ME laugh, telling ME something I need to know or care about, or playing a tune I like......or I'm on to the next. As far as the Holiday tunes go, I figure it'll be good for a point or two in some key demos. I still detest it, though. I've programmed a bright AC before, I never went all holiday until sometime Christmas eve. Of course that was a while ago, before the Holiday music wars started.
 
Bored-Op.
Thank goodness I wasn't the only one who noticed Taylor being all about herself.

I need to make a point here so be patient.....At my very first station, the GM had moved to this area from NYC. HE worked for ABC radio news for years. He was the afternoon voice of ABC news for the East Coast.
I was new to radio and he took me under his wing. The very first point he made clear was "Minimal Personal Information." He told me never to mention whether I personally liked a song or disliked it. Politics and religion should be left at home and don't talk about family.

That was in the early 1970's.
The man was wise.
Nobody wants to hear all the personal stuff.
 
I think you can use personel experiences to relate to an audience, but it has to be in context with something relevant. Whether your setting up a topic of discussion, a bit, or whatever.....it has to RELATE to the audience. You can talk about religion or politics, but you better be doing a talk show. You can be personal without talking about yourself. Thats called becoming a personality. The pitfall of many a young jock over the years has been trying to skip the basics and be a personality from the start. Someone who can do that from the start is a rare breed. One in 500.
 
TFM is still without a PD correct? So as long as that is the case and there is nobody watching the store, she's going to get away with it. It would take a real dive in the ratings in AM drive or advertiser backlash for anything to be done about it.
 
I thought I was the only one who was getting tired of the "all Taylor 98.5". I guess when you have no pd and the OM or GM is out on the golf course or at the flea market there's no one to tell her to "nip it". Seems that all the promos for "Tri-Cities Wake-Up Crew" are done by Taylor. I guess Mann is in the restroom. If you look on their website, the picture with Mann and Taylor has her looking as if to say "look at me, look at me"! Oh we'll, so much for self-promotion. Deep thoughts from the Dawghouse......Woof!
 
Oh, I forgot to mention, I always liked Elva Marie better anyway. She was great with "Love Note's" until so-in-so took it off and put the dreadful Delilah on. Elva made a "local" dedication show better and she did not talk about herself all the time. Now she sounds like a teenage board-op card reader.
 
Oh wow I am totally going to tell my age here, but I have to chime in on this. Love notes! That was HUGE among the Towne Acres Elementary 3rd grade class about 1988. I think I requested Kokomo by the Beach Boys a lot. Oh and don't forget Don't Worry Be Happy. Bobby Ferrin was it? Ratings may be judged by 12+ but 20 years ago, Love Notes had the 8 year olds hooked. I can honestly say that program was something I grew up to. Bring Love Notes back? Sounds like a good idea to me.

Ok I've researched this Taylor situation Maddog referred to on the website. What strikes me is the photo album. I wonder if anyone would want to see my family photos from Halloween? Doubtful for me... or anyone really.
 
J-Street:
Didn't know your fellow 8 year olds listened to "Love Notes", but I guess you had to listen to something not being allowed outside alone after dark. In 1988, I was listening to the mighty 99.9 Kiss FM.I listened to LN's in college during my study time. Kinda relaxed me after listening to a boring professor for two hours. And yes even during the naughty 90's, it seemed a lot of kids called in for a request. I saw somewhere around 96', the current pd at that time, explained in a radiopublication why he dropped Love Notes. Don't remember the quote but I think he said there were "too manykids calling in and that was not their target audience". Hmm, didn't I hear a liner on TFM' the other day say"radio that's kid safe". I thought it was supposed to be "Adult Contemporary" Oh well, what do I know. I wished they would stop playing anything from Backstreet Boys. They got to be related to Rascal Flatts.....HERE"S A CLUE: GO TO WALMART AND BUY SOME **** MUSIC FOR THAT COMPUTER! There' got to be more tunes in that infernal machine than they play. Hire a pd for god's sake, let him "program" the station and keep Taylor's fingers off the computer......I'll stop ranting now, held that in for the last three years....Ow! got a flea, got to scratch....Dawg
 
Well there is nothing wrong with kids calling into a radio station and requesting songs, obviously you don't HAVE to put them on the air or even talk to them. Especially these days, if kids as young as 8 are listening to your radio station instead of their iPod, that's a GOOD thing because there's someone who might continue to listen when their age does matter in the ratings. As for the music, AC sucks. I haven't listened to WTFM enough to "constructively criticize" them and their AC programming so I won't try, but AC music in general has went way down hill since 1988. But really that can be said about almost all forms of music, in my opinion. And yes all thoughts on Rascal Flatts and the Backstreet Boys are duplicated here.
 
The radio is kids safe liner is geared toward the parents, not the kids. A/C's try to position themselves as the station you can listen to with the kids and you don't have to worry about rude and blue DJ comments, etc..
This has proven to be a strong positioner, especially in urban markets with alot of rap on the radio. The key to being safe though is not to be boring. That's a challenge.
 
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