[Other Topic] What's your take on early Christmas Programming?

[The Fat Man]

Every year stations go all Christmas. My question isn't whether or not to do it. My question is what's your take on doing right around Halloween in some markets? It's a cliche question, but one that interests me every year.

My personal take is that we should allow the bird to be served. I do like that one of the Live stations stunted as "evil" to run Halloween music.

 

[Joe Capitano]

My view: no station should start playing Christmas/Holiday "Season" music before noon Thanksgiving Day at the absolute earliest.

 

[FTA4PA]

It is fine after Thanksgiving but before that is just too early IMHO.

 

[Juan]

Has Dish uplinked the Christmas Music Channels yet? Are they in HD?

Asking for a friend

 

[spongella]

Thanksgiving Day would be my preference.

 

[The Fat Man]

Although I agree with after Thanksgiving, the Halloween fanatics are pulling the same stunt lately, beginning in mid-summer. Now, they aren't playing music or shows all summer long, but they is a grassroots on social media to start emphasizing Halloween at the end of July and Beginning of August.

 

[PrinceLH]

Every year, our Oldies station, WTOJ,, in Watertown New York goes wall to wall Christmas, from Thanksgiving to New Year. It's way too long to be in that format. I could see a couple of weeks, but 6 weeks is way too much.

 

[radio]

The "usually accepted" way it was before stations had to try to a) get in the pocket of local retailers FIRST for Christmas and b) Cause more "real" announcers to want to commit suicide was...

Thanksgiving and fist week after: 1 per hour, Next week 2 per hour, 3rd week 3 per hour, 4th or week before christmas 4 or more Christmas per hour, some regular still played, then some kind of Christmas "special lineup" on the eve, and the day.

The DISadvantage to 24/7 Christmas WHEVENER and WHEREVER implemented early is that there's nothing SPECIAL to give your listeners or to "sell" FOR Christmas! We always have had a special program, and either our locally produced "A Christmas Carol" or the 1939, plus other special programs which we believe make the holiday fun to have in the background of family events. To plant Christmas JUST to get into retail stores PA systems early is a sure-fire cheap-ass way for a program director to not have to work for awhile, and to program during the "layoff" season in radio with people not thinking as much about who they're missing. I'm sure, given the big company endorsements of A-I that we won't need some announcers this year at Christmas, sad....because it's the time a good radio station MOST connects to its listeners in so many ways.

 

[k4otl]

Random time for me to chime in: Thanksgiving at the earliest, and maybe they should have "christmas hours" instead of wall to wall christmas music. The local classic country station does it well, they sprinkle in some classic country Christmas songs which fits the format, gradually increasing till right before Christmas, then they go full Christmas on Eve and Day, a lot of country Christmas songs mainly. In my market there's that station that goes 24/7 Christmas and its okay, I flip to it if I want Christmas and back to the others for the regular stuff.