Any stations that are still in all-holiday hits mode? Or, to explain the asterisk, stations that returned to their regular format, but didn't drop the Christmas music right at 12 midnight? I think the only station I know of that does the latter is Nashville's Mix 92.9. According to Yes.com, they resumed their regular playlist at 5 AM (CT) today.
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Stations Still* Playing Christmas Music On 12/26?
- Thread starter DToTheJ
- Start date
WKWKFM (Mix 97.3 Wheeling) is still crankin out the Christmas cheer. I think it all depends on when Christmas is. If it's a Friday, might as well make it an all weekend thing or at least until 7PM Sunday or something. I have many a friends who are going to family get togethers today for example.
Here's a list of stations I've checked out that are still playing non-stop Christmas music, as of 11:30 PM on 12/26:
WARM 103.3 - Harrisburg, PA
96.1 WJYE - Buffalo, NY
Warm 101.3 - Rochester, NY (I checked their website, and it says they'll be going until January 4th! I've never heard a station playing Christmas music that late!)
Sunny 104.3 - West Palm Beach, FL
101.9 Lite FM - Baltimore, MD
97.1 WASH-FM - Washington, DC
There may be others as well, but there are the ones I know of.
WARM 103.3 - Harrisburg, PA
96.1 WJYE - Buffalo, NY
Warm 101.3 - Rochester, NY (I checked their website, and it says they'll be going until January 4th! I've never heard a station playing Christmas music that late!)
Sunny 104.3 - West Palm Beach, FL
101.9 Lite FM - Baltimore, MD
97.1 WASH-FM - Washington, DC
There may be others as well, but there are the ones I know of.
They have Tesh on overnights, and I'm assuming that he continued in a Christmas mode. But during the early morning overnight hours today (around 2:00 a.m.), I heard either a Trans-Siberian Orchestra or Mannheim Steamroller instrumental of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," although (as you said) they are (at least in a general sense) back to "normal" programming now.DToTheJ said:
Anyone know what they are doing for "best of Delilah" over the weekend? She was in Christmas mode (obviously) all this week, but now Christmas is over. Will they find some earlier non-Christmas stuff by her to air tonight?
K-104.7 in Charlotte was playing some terrible Dolly Parton song last night which I concluded must have been a Christmas song.
That was followed by "Sarajevo" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I haven't turned it on today, but that was last night.
The two Delilah stations were playing "You Raise Me Up". Can that be considered a Christmas song?
That was followed by "Sarajevo" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I haven't turned it on today, but that was last night.
The two Delilah stations were playing "You Raise Me Up". Can that be considered a Christmas song?
Epiphany is January 6th. Maybe they're going for at least part of that "12 days of Christmas" thing. January 4th is the first Monday of the new year, and that is when everyone starts returning to work and school, so maybe that is a factor in that date. (One nice thing about being in broadcasting was that since I usually worked all through the holidays (save for my regular days off), I never really had to worry about getting back into the groove after a long layoff because I never took a long layoff. Still, it always annoyed me when I was still in school when radio announcers would "rub in" the fact that that particular day was when everyone had to go back to work or school!ssetta said:
) I don't think it would be all that unusual to continue playing Christmas music now, but I think that still playing it "wall-to-wall" would be a bit much for most people who have grown weary of it by now.Actually, Orthodox Christians and some others celebrate Christmas on January 6 or 7. That would justify religious songs, anyway. I wish we could still have those, because I was in church singing the great hymns and realizing I had missed hearing performances of those songs. Most stations play Winter and Santa songs and songs about Christmas as a family time, and there are some religious songs, but you rarely hear the hymns we sing in church that can be sung so beautifully. I don't want to hear THOSE songs wrecked by today's stars, though.firepoint525 said:Epiphany is January 6th. Maybe they're going for at least part of that "12 days of Christmas" thing. January 4th is the first Monday of the new year, and that is when everyone starts returning to work and school, so maybe that is a factor in that date. (One nice thing about being in broadcasting was that since I usually worked all through the holidays (save for my regular days off), I never really had to worry about getting back into the groove after a long layoff because I never took a long layoff. Still, it always annoyed me when I was still in school when radio announcers would "rub in" the fact that that particular day was when everyone had to go back to work or school!ssetta said:
XM's Love Songs channel is still all-Christmas. I get XM through my DirecTV service and according to the program guide, it will be all-Christmas until midnight Eastern time on New Year's Eve/Day.
It would not surprise me if more stations keep playing Christmas music after Christmas in the future.
Someone asked about Delilah earlier. I came across a station on Sunday night while on my home from a trip and she was back to regularly-scheduled programming.
It would not surprise me if more stations keep playing Christmas music after Christmas in the future.
Someone asked about Delilah earlier. I came across a station on Sunday night while on my home from a trip and she was back to regularly-scheduled programming.
Given the choice, I would rather that stations continue playing at least limited Christmas music now, instead of whacking us over the head with it [full time!] as early as November 21st, which is when they started in on us this year.
I know this is an old thread and the topic is not in season, but I want to chime in. If I ran an AC station, here is how I would handle Christmas music.
Starting the week of thanksgiving, play one song per hour, then go to 2 songs per hour the next week. Then go 1 in 4 Christmas until a week before Christmas when I would go wall to wall. Then go back to 2 per hour between Christmas and New Years then completely drop it on New Years day.
A huge problem with the way stations do it today is by the time Christmas gets here you are already tired of hearing Christmas music. One station here in Charlotte, NC went all Christmas the day after Halloween! No station in their right mind should be playing it wall to wall before the day after Thanksgiving. Any idea on why stations are going earlier and earlier every year?
Starting the week of thanksgiving, play one song per hour, then go to 2 songs per hour the next week. Then go 1 in 4 Christmas until a week before Christmas when I would go wall to wall. Then go back to 2 per hour between Christmas and New Years then completely drop it on New Years day.
A huge problem with the way stations do it today is by the time Christmas gets here you are already tired of hearing Christmas music. One station here in Charlotte, NC went all Christmas the day after Halloween! No station in their right mind should be playing it wall to wall before the day after Thanksgiving. Any idea on why stations are going earlier and earlier every year?
You have it about right. Stations that I worked for in the early '90s programmed similar to this, but that was before all the wall-to-wall Christmas stations came along! :bchristi said:
Stores in my area started putting up Christmas decorations in MID-OCTOBER!! Yes, I think that is much too soon! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, mainly because it is one of the few remaining holidays that haven't been excessively commercialized (and because it is right before my birthday), but in recent years, it has been overrun by the commercialization of Christmas! I am looking forward to the eventual backlash against this type of insanity! Christmas has now become as perpetual (and as long!) as presidential election campaigns! :
I
imhomerjay
Guest
bchristi said:
If I were programming for me, I'd do something along those lines; but the business case for wall-to-wall is simply too strong. With the numbers being what they are, why would I not do what has been shown more often than not to do what's working?
I know it's already May and I'm just now posting this reply, but I just wanted to chime in a moment. Here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 105.7 WOOD FM was still playing Christmas music until the evening of Sunday, December 27 when Delilah came on. I think they just did that because Christmas was a Friday and they wanted to keep the "Christmas magic" alive through the weekend.
I can't remember which song, but I heard a Christmas song on a local standards morning show during the all-request segment just in the past month. I know. It was one by Neil Diamond about wishing it could be Christmas all year long, or something like that. Most of the lyrics would have been relevant any time of year.
bchristi said:
I think that's kinda how AC stations used to do Christmas music up until 2000. Here in West Michigan, 2001 was the first time we ever heard 24/7 Christmas music. Anytime of year. I grew up in the Detroit area, and I'm pretty sure the only time they did 24/7 Christmas music was on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Prior to that, they just mixed a few Christmas songs in with their regular programming.
Of course... this is America. Nothing is done in moderation anymore. Everything's gotta be whole hog. And yes... each year it seems to creep earlier and earlier. I think in 2009, WLHT 95.7 in Grand Rapids did all-Christmas music weekends starting in early or mid October. It's insane.
Grand Rapids' two Regent stations (100.5 WTRV and 95.7 WLHT) did a switch a few years ago. Up until around '06, 100.5 was the one that would compete with Clear Channel's 105.7 WOOD FM in the all-Christmas format. Starting around '07, Regent's other station, 95.7, started doing all-Christmas while 100.5 just continued to do its regular programming (with sprinkling in a few Christmas tracks) well through mid-December. This switch seemed to coincide with 95.7's switch to a slightly hotter AC format.
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