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All-Holiday radio format beginning Oct. 31?? WTF??

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Colonel Angus, Nov 2, 2009.

  1. Colonel Angus

    Colonel Angus Member

    A radio station in my fair city (Tulsa, OK) went to an all-holiday (i.e. Christmas) format on HALLOWEEN NIGHT!! I've checked the last couple of days since and it was not a trick.

    WTF??? :eek:

    Is this happening anywhere else? Just curious.

    For the record, I like Christmas as much as the next guy, but believe Christmas music should start no earlier than the day after Thanksgiving when the "official" Christmas season used to begin in the dim past when I was a child.
     
  2. Gutter

    Gutter Well-Known Member

    Station around here has been doing this for the past several years.
     
  3. Smasher_Sloan

    Smasher_Sloan Active Member

    People understandably bitch and moan about it, but the reason is happens every year is it works. It can be diluted by competitors making the same switch, but it's been a fourth-quarter bonanza for some stations.
     
  4. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    I'm sure Advertisers love it. If you tune in to that stuff, it also puts you in the mood to start shopping earlier.
     
  5. Big Buckin' agate_monkey

    Big Buckin' agate_monkey Active Member

    Got a station in St. Louis doing the same. It was a hip hop/rap station. Tuned in Friday, they were playing Halloween music, including something Frank Sinatra. Tuned in again Sunday, they were playing Christmas music. Still playing it today. I think the station is changing formats and this is the temporary fix.
     
  6. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    It allows you a two-month fix until you have to find some other form of automatic programming...
     
  7. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    There was once a station in my area that decided to fire all DJs and switch formats on a whim. For a week, all they did was play Sinatra's 'New York, New York', over and over again.

    I agree that it's way too early for Christmas music. And even then, I wish stations wouldn't play all Christmas music, all the time. I wouldn't mind it if they alternated with other music, but as soon as a station goes to the Christmas format, I'm changing the dial.
     
  8. Colonel Angus

    Colonel Angus Member

    I'm with you, Baron. And I do understand it's probably a grand conspiracy orchestrated by the musical-retail complex to get everybody in the mood to spend money, which makes me feel very Charlie-Brownian (or Charlie-Brownish??). But it sucks. Glad to hear I'm not the only one who hates this bullshit.
     
  9. Smasher_Sloan

    Smasher_Sloan Active Member

    For every Baron who can't stand it, there's a lady who spent July and August at flea markets looking for Christmas decorations. There are people who can't wait for it, and will listen to an all-Christmas station in October. It's that easy to explain. Radio audiences are greatly fragmented and jump-the-gun all-Christmas super-serves one fraction of the audience.
     
  10. EStreetJoe

    EStreetJoe Well-Known Member

    Several years ago when Philadelphia radio station 104.5 was changing formats to adult contemporary and calling themselves "Sunny 104.5" -- they played the Beatles "Here Comes the Sun" continuously for 24 hours before the format change.
    The station has since changed formats and call letters.
     
  11. forever_town

    forever_town Well-Known Member

    Those people can gladly listen to it all they want. I'm changing my pre-set stations as soon as they start.

    Sounds a lot like newspapers.
     
  12. WolvEagle

    WolvEagle Well-Known Member

    WNIC-FM in Detroit pulls the same all-holiday music crapola. Ugh.
     
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