WPLJ - NO WALL TO WALL CHRISTMAS - This Past Christmas Eve and Day

[Marckd]

WPLJ until 1991 was the semi-anti Christmas station. They played only a couple Christmas SOngs a day during their rock years. Main reason??? Rock Christmas Music was scarce. In 1983, when WPLJ flipped to CHR, they played maybe a few a day until Christmas Eve when they went up to a couple an hour. That uear there were 5 new Christmas Songs by rock and pop artists giving them more to play than before. During the 80's, more top 40 artists recorded a Christmas Song or two here and there. WPLJ still stayed away from doing wall to wall, while Z 100 began the 24 Hours of Wall To Wall Christmas tradition in 1983, their sign on year.

In 1991, Scott Shannon went to WPLJ and at that point WPLJ began playing 3 to 5 Christmas Songs an hour until Christmas eve. They also began playing the Christmas Oldies and Standards staples of widely played cuts (Brenda Lee/Rocking Around Christmas Tree, Little St. Nick/Beach Boys, even Do You hear What I Hear/Bing, Christmas Song 61/Nat King Cole, etc). Then from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day they continued the 24 Hours Of Christmas tradition that Scott started at Z 100. Z 100 in 1992, Z 100 stopped doing 24 hours Of Christmas but reinstated it in 1996 and ended it again in 2002.

WPLJ continued the tradition. In 2004, they even went Wall to Wall from Thanksgiving Day till 6 PM Christmas, after which they ended it cold turkey. From then on they went back to mixing in applicable Christmas Songs along with heavily played staples. But this past year they did not even starte playing any Christmas Music till 2 weeks before Christmas and they played 2 an hour at that point. They played no more than 4 an hour. They also had NO 24 Hours of Christmas and did not do any wall to wall this year. I missed it this year. My guess is new Cumulus Management mandate...

 

[Seltzer]

WPLJ until 1991 was the semi-anti Christmas station. They played only a couple Christmas SOngs a day during their rock years. Main reason??? Rock Christmas Music was scarce. In 1983, when WPLJ flipped to CHR, they played maybe a few a day until Christmas Eve when they went up to a couple an hour. That uear there were 5 new Christmas Songs by rock and pop artists giving them more to play than before. During the 80's, more top 40 artists recorded a Christmas Song or two here and there. WPLJ still stayed away from doing wall to wall, while Z 100 began the 24 Hours of Wall To Wall Christmas tradition in 1983, their sign on year.

In 1991, Scott Shannon went to WPLJ and at that point WPLJ began playing 3 to 5 Christmas Songs an hour until Christmas eve. They also began playing the Christmas Oldies and Standards staples of widely played cuts (Brenda Lee/Rocking Around Christmas Tree, Little St. Nick/Beach Boys, even Do You hear What I Hear/Bing, Christmas Song 61/Nat King Cole, etc). Then from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day they continued the 24 Hours Of Christmas tradition that Scott started at Z 100. Z 100 in 1992, Z 100 stopped doing 24 hours Of Christmas but reinstated it in 1996 and ended it again in 2002.

WPLJ continued the tradition. In 2004, they even went Wall to Wall from Thanksgiving Day till 6 PM Christmas, after which they ended it cold turkey. From then on they went back to mixing in applicable Christmas Songs along with heavily played staples. But this past year they did not even starte playing any Christmas Music till 2 weeks before Christmas and they played 2 an hour at that point. They played no more than 4 an hour. They also had NO 24 Hours of Christmas and did not do any wall to wall this year. I missed it this year. My guess is new Cumulus Management mandate...

PLJ made the right call. When you have a 24 hour Christmas station and another station CBS-FM that I'm sure played a fair amount of Christmas tunes, this is one arena PLJ doesn't need to be in.

 

[RoyalScam]

Counter-programming.

 

[GSP163]

Plus there sister station 103.9 WFAS-FM was all Chistmas and had been since Thankgiving....This was the first time WFAS-FM went all Chistmas in years past as they only did weekend specials along with the day or two right before Chistmas day.

 

[Marckd]

Plus there sister station 103.9 WFAS-FM was all Chistmas and had been since Thankgiving....This was the first time WFAS-FM went all Chistmas in years past as they only did weekend specials along with the day or two right before Chistmas day.

I disagree - WFAS is not a true New York City station - like saying Lite FM should not have gone Christmas since WSUS 60 miles away which tehy own went Christmas...

WPLJ should have gone wall to wall for 24 hours between maybe 3 PM Christmas EVe and 3 PM Christmas day. The rest of the time though 3 an hour was fine to play. Main reason??? PLENTY OF SUITABLE MUSIC for Christmas by core artists and secondary ones including Sheryl Crow, Sugar Ray, Rihanna, Melissa Ethridge, Christina Aguilera, Justin Bieber (to a lesser extent), Lady Antabellum, Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, Madonna, John Mellencamp, Mariah Carey, and many others. Plus with the staples like Rocking Around Christmas Tree/Brenda Lee, Christmas Song/Nat King COle, Please Come Home For Christmas/Eagles, Christmas Wrapping/Waitresses, Do You hear What I Hear/Bing (all of which WPLJ was mixing in anyway) - gave WPLJ plenty to stand on. I can see Rock stations or Hip Hop Stations not playing much for Christmas Music but Hot AC's have plenty to choose from without huge repetition to pplay for one day a year.

I will go on a limb here - I ALSO think Z 100 should have gone wall to wall for a day - yes WLTW did from mid November to early December 26 (and is still playing some remnants unlike most stations mixed in with WLTW regular music). But Z 100 would have only been wall to wall for a full 24 hour period. I also think they should have played 2 or 3 Christmas songs an hour as well from Thanksgiving to Christmas eve. Difference though would be that Z 100 should have only played by core artists - tha Justin Bieber/Lady gaga/ type stuff as well as some 90's artists and steered clear of the 50's to 70's staples WPLJ played UNTIL a few days before Christmas. Then mixing that in would be acceptable. Then for Christmas Eve to Christmas Day they too should play a mix - the traditional secular (for the most part) staples mixed with core artists - then by 3 PM Christmas KILL Christmas Music cold turkey. This still would leave Clear Channel with WKTU (playing only a few Christmas Songs at most and NO WALL TO WALL), Q 104 (also very limited one or two an hour and no wall to wall), and Power 105 (with maybe a handful total and of course not wall to wall). Z 100 would not have hurt Lite FM WLTW doing the moderate amount and the short time with wall to wall...But with the large amount of suitable Christmas Music out there - there was no excuse for Z 100 and WPLJ to not have gone wall to wall...

 

[EJ204]

Here's the reason WPLJ did not go All-Christmas on Dec. 24 and 25. It is now a contemporary-based Hot AC station. It plays almost no music from before 2000.

Yes, it always was an uptempo AC station. But while Scott Shannon was in control, it still played AC titles from 25 or more years ago. That ended this year when Cumulus installed a fairly typical Hot AC playlist. Shannon may still be making some programming decisions, but not about the music.

Most Hot AC stations play only a smattering of Christmas music, even Dec. 24 and 25. If you're playing 70-80% of the current Top 40 and only a few titles from more than a few years ago, you're not going to play much Christmas music. You leave that to the Mainstream AC stations and Oldies/Classic Hits stations.

 

[disney fanatic]

That happens every year. WJGK's "The Fox" and WGNY's "Fox Oldies" did played wall-to-wall Christmas music from 12 PM Christmas Eve through 12 AM on Christmas Night, and it lasted for 48 hours. I recorded all 48 hours of Christmas and missing a few hours which was so far. I got it record it very well. WJGK and WGNY did a great job for playing Christmas music. That happens every years. They played some Christmas music just like you hear on WLTW's "Lite-FM", CBS-FM, WHUD and others as well as playing the Christmas oldies like Dion, Kenny Vance & the Planotones, Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge, the Skyliners, Frankie Lymon and a few others. I hope WJGK and WGNY did a great job. Kudos to the two stations that carried 48 hours of Christmas music.

 

[Marckd]

Yes, it always was an uptempo AC station. But while Scott Shannon was in control, it still played AC titles from 25 or more years ago.

Not Quite - Actually yes it played titles from about 30 years ago going as far back as 1980. But they wer not AC hits. For that time these songs were Top 40/rock crossovers that AC stations steered clear of. The 80's music heard on WPLJ was mostly rock based in fact. Some songs were even Modern Rock only titles. So artists like Blondie, U2, The Cure, were not AC artists. But yes they stopped playing 80's music this past spring. Still there are quite a few post 2000 Christmas Songs WPLJ could have stood on. Hopefully WPLJ will bring back the Christmas music tradition next year. But I won't hold my breath. My guess is that of they take WFME Country, they will make 94.7 FM the wall to wall station for Christams at least from Christmas Eve to Christmas day. I frankly say Why not Wall to wall Christmas on a Hot AC or CHR station today. There is plenty of stuff that will fit in plus even a CHR fan will tolerate Christmas songs by artiststhey normally do not listen to the rest of the year. Hey its only a day. Plus by 8 PM Christmas its over anyway for such stations with Christmas music.

 

[Giacomo Siffredi]

But yes they stopped playing 80's music this past spring. Still there are quite a few post 2000 Christmas Songs WPLJ could have stood on.

The actual title to the special is the WPLJ 24 Hours Of Christmas.

My guess is this decision had more to do with economics than programming. Cumulus just laid out $40 million plus other fees to buy a radio station. While the 24-hour period between 6PM Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is not a traditional high-biller, as opposed to that same time period during a typical weekday, it still is airtime that can be financially lucrative for a New York full-power FM. Perhaps a single-sponsor model wouldn't have made up the difference either. And Cumulus didn't want to sacrifice the revenue.

The lack of pre-1990 material would be irrelevant to the decision. Christmas music is not based as strongly on its time period as a typical song. Hence, why 1994's "All I Want For Christmas" by Mariah Carey is a regular holiday tune on WCBS-FM, the classic hits station which publicly curtails it's playlist to 1964 through 1989.

Hopefully WPLJ will bring back the Christmas music tradition next year. But I won't hold my breath. My guess is that of they take WFME Country, they will make 94.7 FM the wall to wall station for Christams at least from Christmas Eve to Christmas day. I frankly say Why not Wall to wall Christmas on a Hot AC or CHR station today. There is plenty of stuff that will fit in plus even a CHR fan will tolerate Christmas songs by artiststhey normally do not listen to the rest of the year. Hey its only a day. Plus by 8 PM Christmas its over anyway for such stations with Christmas music.

I would be surprised if Cumulus took 94.7FM with any kind of a Christmas format during the 2013 holiday season. Cumulus will likely want to preserve and not deviate from the new format for at least a year once it's launched.

I think it was the wrong decision for WPLJ to not air it, not only because I and many listeners enjoyed it, but also from a PR standpoint. However, there were plenty of alternatives on and around the New York FM dial. And the decision by some stations to end the seasonal tunes at 7 or 8PM on Christmas night (i.e. WCBS-FM) is rather dumb. With only four or five hours left of the actual night, it makes sense to stick with it, especially if you've played ANY seasonal tunes in regular rotation during the weeks leading up to the actual day.

 

[Seltzer]

Plus there sister station 103.9 WFAS-FM was all Chistmas and had been since Thankgiving....This was the first time WFAS-FM went all Chistmas in years past as they only did weekend specials along with the day or two right before Chistmas day.

I disagree - WFAS is not a true New York City station - like saying Lite FM should not have gone Christmas since WSUS 60 miles away which tehy own went Christmas...

WPLJ should have gone wall to wall for 24 hours between maybe 3 PM Christmas EVe and 3 PM Christmas day. The rest of the time though 3 an hour was fine to play. Main reason??? PLENTY OF SUITABLE MUSIC for Christmas by core artists and secondary ones including Sheryl Crow, Sugar Ray, Rihanna, Melissa Ethridge, Christina Aguilera, Justin Bieber (to a lesser extent), Lady Antabellum, Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, Madonna, John Mellencamp, Mariah Carey, and many others. Plus with the staples like Rocking Around Christmas Tree/Brenda Lee, Christmas Song/Nat King COle, Please Come Home For Christmas/Eagles, Christmas Wrapping/Waitresses, Do You hear What I Hear/Bing (all of which WPLJ was mixing in anyway) - gave WPLJ plenty to stand on. I can see Rock stations or Hip Hop Stations not playing much for Christmas Music but Hot AC's have plenty to choose from without huge repetition to pplay for one day a year.

I will go on a limb here - I ALSO think Z 100 should have gone wall to wall for a day - yes WLTW did from mid November to early December 26 (and is still playing some remnants unlike most stations mixed in with WLTW regular music). But Z 100 would have only been wall to wall for a full 24 hour period. I also think they should have played 2 or 3 Christmas songs an hour as well from Thanksgiving to Christmas eve. Difference though would be that Z 100 should have only played by core artists - tha Justin Bieber/Lady gaga/ type stuff as well as some 90's artists and steered clear of the 50's to 70's staples WPLJ played UNTIL a few days before Christmas. Then mixing that in would be acceptable. Then for Christmas Eve to Christmas Day they too should play a mix - the traditional secular (for the most part) staples mixed with core artists - then by 3 PM Christmas KILL Christmas Music cold turkey. This still would leave Clear Channel with WKTU (playing only a few Christmas Songs at most and NO WALL TO WALL), Q 104 (also very limited one or two an hour and no wall to wall), and Power 105 (with maybe a handful total and of course not wall to wall). Z 100 would not have hurt Lite FM WLTW doing the moderate amount and the short time with wall to wall...But with the large amount of suitable Christmas Music out there - there was no excuse for Z 100 and WPLJ to not have gone wall to wall...

Z100 Wall to Wall? No way.

 

[EJ204]

Guys, you're really overthinking this.

At one time, Top 40 stations, in fact all stations, played Christmas music from Christmas Eve (usually starting either at Noon or 6pm) till Christmas Day (somewhere around Noon to 6pm). Even Talk stations did it. This year, both WOR and WABC did it.

But these days, most stations that aim young, Top 40, Urban, even Hot AC stations DON'T do it anymore. When Scott Shannon controlled Z100 and later when he controlled WPLJ, he had these stations go All-Christmas for 24 hours. This was partially done because it was traditional. The great Top 40 stations of the past, including WABC, used to do. And it was also, in the days before voice-tracking, a way to give the DJ staff, except for a couple of board ops, the chance to be home for Christmas. The music would be played with no DJs and often no commercials.

That's over with. AC stations like Lite-FM are so identified with Christmas music, that youth stations don't WANT to play more than a few holiday songs per hour. Youth stations are the place you go if you want to get away from your family and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.

That means no All-Christmas on Z100, 92.3 Now, the Urban stations, the Latin stations, KTU and PLJ. It isn't about commercials. Lite and CBS-FM go All-Christmas while still playing commercials. If 94.7 goes Country, it will likely play Country Christmas music from Dec. 24 to Dec. 25 because Country stations are aimed at adults.

 

[Jersey Maiden]

Guys, you're really overthinking this.

At one time, Top 40 stations, in fact all stations, played Christmas music from Christmas Eve (usually starting either at Noon or 6pm) till Christmas Day (somewhere around Noon to 6pm). Even Talk stations did it. This year, both WOR and WABC did it.

But these days, most stations that aim young, Top 40, Urban, even Hot AC stations DON'T do it anymore. When Scott Shannon controlled Z100 and later when he controlled WPLJ, he had these stations go All-Christmas for 24 hours. This was partially done because it was traditional. The great Top 40 stations of the past, including WABC, used to do. And it was also, in the days before voice-tracking, a way to give the DJ staff, except for a couple of board ops, the chance to be home for Christmas. The music would be played with no DJs and often no commercials.

That's over with. AC stations like Lite-FM are so identified with Christmas music, that youth stations don't WANT to play more than a few holiday songs per hour. Youth stations are the place you go if you want to get away from your family and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.

That means no All-Christmas on Z100, 92.3 Now, the Urban stations, the Latin stations, KTU and PLJ. It isn't about commercials. Lite and CBS-FM go All-Christmas while still playing commercials. If 94.7 goes Country, it will likely play Country Christmas music from Dec. 24 to Dec. 25 because Country stations are aimed at adults.

Personally, I believe it's more that non-AC stations want to differentiate themselves by not playing Christmas music all the time than what they think a young demographic wants. That said, urban stations, which I believe are the most young-leaning stations, rarely play holiday music if ever. The past few years, I have not heard a single Christmas song on either Hot 97 or Power. About 3 or 4 years ago, I would occasionally hear TLC's Sleigh Ride from them. Not anymore. You're more likely to hear Run DMC's "Christmas in Hollis" and other holiday hip hop on alternative or college stations.

Speaking of alternative, they're a youth format that still plays all holiday music on Christmas Eve. Radio 104.5 out of Philly did it (not sure for how many hours) and I really enjoyed that thanks to Iheartradio. Since New Rock 101.9 had the same pattern of minimal DJ involvement, I'm sure they would have done the same thing on Christmas Eve had Merlin decided not to let it go. Fortunately, in our area, WDHA had wall-to-wall Christmas songs on Christmas Eve stating at 6 (granted, they're an older leaning active rock station, though they play some alternative bands). Still, it wasn't enough. I like Christmas songs as much as the next person but I got sick of the ones Lite FM would play a million times a day. Alternative has the biggest commitment to playing the Christmas songs Lite would never touch. Hopefully, 94.7 goes alternative and follows the lead of Radio 104.5 next Christmas Eve.

 

[Marckd]

I am surprised that the record labels do not push mainstream CHR stations to play more Christmas music mixed into rotationd during Advent and wall to wall from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day. THERE is PLENTY CHR artists with Christmas Albums and CERTAINLY Hot AC stations. These artists should be getting more airplay. I already said what type of Christmas music the Z 100's and WPLJ's should be playing above. I will say these types of stations should be playing the more recent uptempo and rock stuff that the WLTW's and the WLIF's and the KOST's would not touch. What is wrong with being wall to wall Christmas music for one out of 365 days? ALso commercials could still run anyway.

Also I do not recall if WABC played all Christmas Music Christmas day during their Top 40 years. I do recall WABC being wall to wall Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning in 1981. Then from noon on WABC would play the top hits of that year in a countdown. The rest of Christmas Day a couple times an hour they mixed in a Christmas Song and after Christmas a couple New Years songs a day. I do not recall previous years.

 

[Hardrocker9]

I agree, I remember when there was a Christmas where K-Rock, PLJ , Kiss, Z, CBS , Mix, KTU and Lite were all Christmas. You know each one had there own unique mix. I enjoyed switching back and forth between K-Rock, PLJ, Z, Mix and KTU. Above all PLJ would be playing at our house for Christmas, but not this year. Where else can you hear Norman Brown charlie brown christmas, they had the best instrumentals around. Now I guess they are just a boring TOP 40. I know I won't be tuning in as much as I used to.