Two Wisconsin stations went all-Christmas on Thursday, Oct. 31, making the flip before kids went trick-or-treating, and a third station joined the ranks Friday ahead of an expected format change.
Entercom’s “Mix 105.1” (WMHX Waunakee-Madison) was the first Upper Midwest station to go all-Christmas this year, making the flip at midday on Halloween:
Last year, “Mix” had switched to all-Christmas on Nov. 15, with the seasonal format moving over from its previous longtime home at Entercom sister station WOLX/94.9 (Baraboo-Madison). Two other Madison stations also made the switch later in the season.
Meanwhile, Woodward Radio Group’s “KZ104.3” (WKZG Seymour-Green Bay) flipped late Thursday afternoon. Music logs on the station’s website indicate it went straight from Halloween to Christmas, playing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” at 4:51 followed by Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” at 4:57.
“KZ104.3” has not previously gone all-Christmas with its current format; the frequency had last adopted the seasonal playlist amid a format change in 2012.
A Halloween flip to all-Christmas is not unprecedented in Wisconsin. Two Milwaukee stations made the switch on Halloween 2008 but held back until November in subsequent years.
Meanwhile, Cumulus Media’s “Nash FM 104.9” became “Christmas 104.9” on Friday morning. The station went all-Christmas for the first time last year, also on Nov. 1, but kept the “Nash FM” branding and returned to its usual Country format following Christmas.
Dropping a slogan often foreshadows a format change. WPCK is in the process of being sold to the Educational Media Foundation, operator of the non-commercial “K-Love” and “Air-1” Christian music networks, as a result of a required divestiture by Cumulus in the Green Bay market.
Green Bay is one of the few rated markets that does not have a commercial station that traditionally goes all-Christmas on a regular basis.
Once again this year, the seasonal flips are being tracked on the All-Christmas Stations page.
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