“They are,” she said to no one in particular, as she heard a Christmas song.



“They’re trying to beat us at our own game,” West said. “We’ve always been known as the Christmas station. Our listeners will not change to hear Christmas music on The Rose.”



Like it or not, it is beginning to sound a lot like Christmas a little earlier each year, as radio stations try to get a leg up on the competition.



This year, Lancaster’s 101.3 WROZ “The Rose” started its Christmas music at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24, with the Seattle-based syndicated show “Delilah,” which has a special Christmas channel this year. The Rose will go strictly with a Christmas music format through Dec. 25.



“This is the biggest time of the year,” Rose operations manager Tom Shannon said. “People want to jump on the holiday train and feel good.”



At least 30 FM stations switched from regular programming this month in favor of an all-Christmas-music format. As of Tuesday afternoon, Internet site 1000watts.com noted 1,011 radio stations nationally had flipped to all-Christmas music.



It’s become a growing trend in the radio industry, to “Deck the Halls” and burn chestnuts before the competition.
A few years ago, it was uncommon for stations to start playing holiday tunes more than a day or two before Christmas. Playing “Blue Christmas” before Black Friday was unheard of.



But the number of stations switching formats at this time of year has surged since 2001, and those in the industry say it is for two reasons: ratings and exposure.
“Everything changed after September 11,” Shannon said. “People want Christmas music. People are scared about the economy and are confused about the war. This is a common trend everybody can enjoy.”



Program directors said the format is a proven home run in the market. But not all stations are giving in to the temptation.



“It’s a different animal with us than The Rose,” said Mike McCoy, operations manager for WLAN FM97 in Lancaster. “Our biggest drop-off is in December. That’s when they (The Rose) pick up female listeners.” FM97 caters to a younger audience, McCoy said.



The shifts, which have happened almost exclusively at adult-contemporary stations that normally play easy-listening pop, have sent ratings soaring.



McCoy, whose station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, which also owns WSNI Sunny 104.5 FM in Philadelphia, said Sunny became the first station in the Philly market to go to Christmas tunes for a full month and produced big ratings numbers.



This year WBEB-FM, which is known as B101 in Philadelphia, made the switch to Christmas music on Nov. 12, in an attempt to beat Sunny. It beat them by 12 hours.


Nationally, many stations switched on Veterans Day (Nov. 11), while one station in Charlotte, N.C., started playing Christmas tunes at midnight on Halloween.



“I was driving through Philadelphia last week and heard B101, which is a giant independent station that plays adult contemporary like us, and started doing some research into the idea,” said Bill Baldwin, senior vice president of Hall Communications Radio Group, which owns The Rose and WHBO BIG 92.7, an oldies station.



“I think our Christmas music has increased over the last six years,” he said. “I don’t think it changes anyone’s income level, because advertisers have already bought their fourth quarter advertising. I can’t say it has helped us, but it hasn’t hurt.”



Baldwin said as of Tuesday morning, more than 12 hours after switching to Christmas music, The Rose had a few negative calls, but mostly positive.



“I like it,” he said about being the first in central Pennsylvania to go with Christmas music. “It is top-of-mind awareness. When people think of Christmas, I want them to think of The Rose.”



That used to be WARM 103’s distinction, West said. Her station plans to go with all-Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving, something that was uncommon prior to September 11. Now listeners want to capture the holiday feeling earlier.



“Prior to September 11, our listeners wouldn’t have tolerated it any earlier,” she said. “Since (September 11) everything has changed; it is a whole different mood in the country. People find strength and mood in music. For every call or e-mail complaint we get 50 praises.”



West said she got a cue from listeners last year when WARM started playing Christmas music on Thanksgiving. Her listeners let her know they don’t want to hear it before Thanksgiving, she said. She said she is one of those people who prefers to enjoy each holiday and believes Christmas gets rushed.



“I want to enjoy the season,” West said. “People want to celebrate Thanksgiving, and they are not ready for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving when the shopping and decorating begin. If you start too early, you cheat people.”



Hall Communications, which owns 17 stations in five markets, covering Florida, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, will stick with oldies, mixing in a few Christmas songs on its Lancaster station Big 92.7, Baldwin said. He said three other FM stations would start Christmas music on Thanksgiving, and four country stations will stay to format, mixing in a few Christmas songs. The other stations follow a talk-radio format and will not change.



McCoy, who said FM97 will start playing Christmas music Christmas eve starting at 3 p.m. through Christmas Day, will play some holiday tunes -– one or two an hour – in the days leading up to Christmas, if it fits the format.
He believes the trend of starting Christmas music more than a month before the holiday will stick around for a while and that it is done not as much as a revenue tool during the holidays but as a marketing ploy for the rest of the year.



With the ads already sold, the radio station’s goal is to show it has a good product, to keep listeners after the holiday season is over, he said.



“If you are a smart radio station, you know you have a higher listening audience, so you sell your product,” McCoy said. “You sell your morning show and anything else you want to promote. You hope to turn audiences on to your station. It comes down to marketing after the fact. You have to be a good station after the season.”



Eric Stark, who edits the Sunday News business section, has worked on local radio for nearly 13 years. His last job, which ended Nov. 23, was with 101.3 FM The Rose. blog comments powered by Disqus