The start date of all-Christmas formats has moved around over the years, and (with apologies to Sinatra) stations are Christmas dreaming a little earlier this year.
The earlier start dates first peaked in 2008 when two Milwaukee stations went all-Christmas on Halloween, but stations generally held off a bit longer in subsequent years. The trend toward early flips returned this year with two Upper Midwest stations dressing up as Santa on Halloween, joined by another half-dozen stations on Friday.
While two early season snowfalls in the week leading up to Halloween may have played a role, competition and format changes appear to have had an influence as well.
In Duluth, Townsquare Media’s “Kool 101.7” (KLDJ) has made the switch for the first time since 2015. KLDJ had been the seasonal format’s home for a decade and is now positioning itself as “the original Christmas station.” Midwest Communications’ “My 95.7” (KDAL-FM) and Northwestern’s non-commercial “Life 97.3” (KDNW) have also carried the seasonal playlist in recent years.
In Willmar, the Christmas format moved over to 97.3 “The River” (KRVY Starbuck) after KDJS/1590 flipped to Conservative Talk. KDJS had gone all-Christmas for at least the past six seasons.
In Green Bay, as previously suggested, the Halloween flip of Woodward’s “KZ104.3” (WKZG Seymour) may be an attempt to establish itself as the holiday station in a market that has traditionally lacked a commercial Christmas outlet. Cumulus’ WPCK/104.9 (Denmark-Green Bay) flipped on Nov. 1 for the second year in a row but there won’t be a third year because the station is in the process of being sold to the Educational Media Foundation.
Madison, as you may know already, was the first to get all-Christmas music on Entercom’s “Mix 105.1” (WMHX Waunakee) at midday Halloween. Last year, “Mix” didn’t flip until Nov. 15, but the extra few weeks could give it more time to establish itself if two other stations in the market flip later in the month as they did last year.
In the Quad Cities, the Nov. 1 flip of iHeartRadio’s “Mix 96” (KMXG Clinton) came only four days earlier than last year.
Elsewhere, the Christmas formats on “Leo 1360” (KMJM Cedar Rapids) and “106.1 The Gift” (W291CJ and WFXD-HD4 Marquette) appear to have launched on the same schedule as last year.
Follow the continuing flips on the 2019 All-Christmas Stations page.