2022 Christmas Radio Stations Thread

[hotdogPi]

I forgot to mention this earlier. It's been up the entire season, but since I typically switch around the 20th or so (I switched a bit earlier this year because of signal issues regarding 106.7):

https://www.classicalwcrb.org

Stream "Perfect Holiday Party Soundtrack". You'll get a single ad immediately upon clicking but none after that until you stop and start again. It contains some instrumental and some choral, and I would say about 60% are religious. There are a few you might not recognize (I would say nothing more obscure than Il est né le divin enfant, which isn't universally known but is known by a decent percentage).

(The other two streams include more obscure pieces. Heavenly Holiday Classics includes long pieces like Messiah, the entirety of the Nutcracker, and Charpentier's Christmas Mass, while Ultimate Holiday Classical Mix is all standalone but I only recognize about 1/3. You'll definitely want the Party Soundtrack.)

[Henry]

The end is fast approaching, so I was wondering something else: Does your station flip back to regular music at midnight on December 26th, or at a later date and time? I remember a time when the former was done nationwide, but now that rule has apparently been relaxed because few stations extend their holiday marathon to the first Friday/Saturday/Sunday after Christmas. (However, this year I wouldn't count on it going past Friday, since the next two days will be New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, respectively.)

[MATraveler128]

The end is fast approaching, so I was wondering something else: Does your station flip back to regular music at midnight on December 26th, or at a later date and time? I remember a time when the former was done nationwide, but now that rule has apparently been relaxed because few stations extend their holiday marathon to the first Friday/Saturday/Sunday after Christmas. (However, this year I wouldn't count on it going past Friday, since the next two days will be New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, respectively.)

I know Magic 106.7 in Boston goes right back to regular music starting on the 26th.

[roadman65]

At one time ZRadio in Orlando kept it going beyond Christmas Day, but in the past few decades have stopped after the 25th.  It seems they were catering to the denominations that believed in Advent with Christmas only starting on the 25th, but now stopped.

WBVM being part of the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, FL has kept it going till New Years to keep up with the Catholic Liturgy, as New Years the Church stops it's Christmas music at mass even though their season official ends after the Second Sunday of January.

[PurdueBill]

The end is fast approaching, so I was wondering something else: Does your station flip back to regular music at midnight on December 26th, or at a later date and time? I remember a time when the former was done nationwide, but now that rule has apparently been relaxed because few stations extend their holiday marathon to the first Friday/Saturday/Sunday after Christmas. (However, this year I wouldn't count on it going past Friday, since the next two days will be New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, respectively.)

I know Magic 106.7 in Boston goes right back to regular music starting on the 26th.

It is almost comical how WMJI in Cleveland, after playing Christmas music nonstop since before Halloween, cut to "regular" stuff as soon as possible after midnight passed.  One might think that especially with the legal holiday being the Monday and people still in the holiday mode, maybe another day of it? Nope!  Even the Hallmark Channel continues Christmas movies until January 1!

[ZLoth]

KDGE-Star 102.1 in Dallas, TX started their Christmas music rotation on November 10th.

In Dallas, KDGE went back to standard music on the 26th. WRR 101 (yes, a station west of the Mississippi that begins with a W), however, is sticking with holiday music until January 2nd because they are transitioning to being managed by KERA and becoming a non-commercial all-classical station.

[hotdogPi]

96.1 (Worcester) has seriously cut back on variety this year. 106.7 (Boston) is about where it was before.

Songs that 96.1 doesn't seem to play despite definitely hearing them repeatedly on "standard" Christmas stations (so not now-gone 104.9 that had unusually high variety):

• The "other" All I Want for Christmas is You — the one that's not Mariah Carey (you can tell the difference by the time signature)
• Caroling Caroling
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
• Merry Christmas Darling
• Merry Christmas Baby
• Celebrate Me Home
• Mele Kalikimaka
• Christmas Waltz
• Little Saint Nick
• Mary's Boy Child
• My Grownup Christmas List
• Christmas Tree Farm
• Christmas Wrapping
• Some weird arrangement of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
• Dominick the Donkey
• Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
• Same Old Lang Syne (not to be confused with Old Lang Syne itself)
• Snoopy's Christmas

[CapeCodder]

Coffee FM out here on the Cape is Christmas 24/7. The other stations here mix in the Christmas standards amongst the normal songs. KEZK 102.5 in St. Louis flips back to normal at midnight the 26th. A few years ago, when there were two other Christmas stations in town they stayed all Christmas until New Year's Day.

[golden eagle]

Coffee FM out here on the Cape is Christmas 24/7. The other stations here mix in the Christmas standards amongst the normal songs. KEZK 102.5 in St. Louis flips back to normal at midnight the 26th. A few years ago, when there were two other Christmas stations in town they stayed all Christmas until New Year's Day.

A couple of years ago, B98.5 in Little Rock stayed all-Christmas through December 30.

Here at home, Mix 98.7 (WJKK) went all-Christmas the second week of November.

[ErmineNotyours]

Only two FM stations in Seattle have transitioned to all-Christmas this year: Spirit 105.3, which is Contemporary Christian anyway, and Adult Contemporary Warm 106.1 106.9.  Santa 101.5 is a no-show this year.

I wonder if this is another sign that radio has given up.  There are almost no radio station billboards any more, even though we have had two recent format changes: KJR Sports Radio moving to FM and 98.9 changing to Adult Album Alternative.  There used to be radio station remote trucks at the Puyallup Fair, or at least radio station sponsors in the schedule books handed out, but now nothing.

[Henry]

Only two FM stations in Seattle have transitioned to all-Christmas this year: Spirit 105.3, which is Contemporary Christian anyway, and Adult Contemporary Warm 106.1.  Santa 101.5 is a no-show this year.

I wonder if this is another sign that radio has given up.  There are almost no radio station billboards any more, even though we have had two recent format changes: KJR Sports Radio moving to FM and 98.9 changing to Adult Album Alternative.  There used to be radio station remote trucks at the Puyallup Fair, or at least radio station sponsors in the schedule books handed out, but now nothing.

First off, you mean Warm 106.9. The station at 106.1 has a Top-40 format, and I think you're forgetting about 94.1 The Sound, another Soft AC station that competes with the same station from which it stole Delilah (Warm 106.9).

Second, there are still plenty of stations to pick from, even though they're simply not as good as they used to be. Notice how nobody says "oldies" anymore, because it's now "classic hits", and several other formats have gone extinct, including smooth jazz. Even the nonmusical stations have gone downhill, with news that gets stale within an hour and loudmouthed talkshow hosts who throw their support behind Donald Trump. Pandora is far better at preserving these formats than the big-money companies are (that means iHeart, Audacy and Cumulus).

[vdeane]

Only two FM stations in Seattle have transitioned to all-Christmas this year: Spirit 105.3, which is Contemporary Christian anyway, and Adult Contemporary Warm 106.1.  Santa 101.5 is a no-show this year.

I wonder if this is another sign that radio has given up.  There are almost no radio station billboards any more, even though we have had two recent format changes: KJR Sports Radio moving to FM and 98.9 changing to Adult Album Alternative.  There used to be radio station remote trucks at the Puyallup Fair, or at least radio station sponsors in the schedule books handed out, but now nothing.

First off, you mean Warm 106.9. The station at 106.1 has a Top-40 format, and I think you're forgetting about 94.1 The Sound, another Soft AC station that competes with the same station from which it stole Delilah (Warm 106.9).

Second, there are still plenty of stations to pick from, even though they're simply not as good as they used to be. Notice how nobody says "oldies" anymore, because it's now "classic hits", and several other formats have gone extinct, including smooth jazz. Even the nonmusical stations have gone downhill, with news that gets stale within an hour and loudmouthed talkshow hosts who throw their support behind Donald Trump. Pandora is far better at preserving these formats than the big-money companies are (that means iHeart, Audacy and Cumulus).

I associate "classic hits" with the 80s.  "Oldies" to me implies older than that - 60s at the latest.

In my head, the quintessential classic hits stations are CBS FM (WCBS) in NYC and Classic Hits 104.1 (WHTT) in Buffalo.  I'm aware others are different

[golden eagle]

Only two FM stations in Seattle have transitioned to all-Christmas this year: Spirit 105.3, which is Contemporary Christian anyway, and Adult Contemporary Warm 106.1.  Santa 101.5 is a no-show this year.

I wonder if this is another sign that radio has given up.  There are almost no radio station billboards any more, even though we have had two recent format changes: KJR Sports Radio moving to FM and 98.9 changing to Adult Album Alternative.  There used to be radio station remote trucks at the Puyallup Fair, or at least radio station sponsors in the schedule books handed out, but now nothing.

First off, you mean Warm 106.9. The station at 106.1 has a Top-40 format, and I think you're forgetting about 94.1 The Sound, another Soft AC station that competes with the same station from which it stole Delilah (Warm 106.9).

Second, there are still plenty of stations to pick from, even though they're simply not as good as they used to be. Notice how nobody says "oldies" anymore, because it's now "classic hits", and several other formats have gone extinct, including smooth jazz. Even the nonmusical stations have gone downhill, with news that gets stale within an hour and loudmouthed talkshow hosts who throw their support behind Donald Trump. Pandora is far better at preserving these formats than the big-money companies are (that means iHeart, Audacy and Cumulus).

The big conglomerates like iHateRadio have ruined radio by taking away almost all local control. With a few exceptions, it's glorified satelliited radio.