Christmas came earlier to the radio dials this year in Milwaukee and Omaha, marking a return to earlier flips to the All-Santa playlist in the Brew City.
Saga’s “Pure Oldies 106.9” (WRXS Brookfield-Milwaukee) made its transition to “WRXS-Mas” on Wednesday, Nov. 1, a full 17 days earlier than last year, but not as early as the legendary Halloween Christmas flips of 2008 by two other Milwaukee stations.
In recent years, “B93.3” (WDLB) and “95.7 BIG FM” (WRIT) have also gone All-Christmas at some point; “B93.3” was first on Nov. 17 last year followed by WRIT and WRXS the next day.
In Omaha, the Nov. 1 flip by SummitMedia’s “Star 104.5” (KSRZ) is ten days earlier than last year but only three days earlier than 2020. (NorthPine has been tracking this data for a few decades.) And down I-80 in Lincoln, Alpha Media’s “Mix 103.3” (K277CA and KLMS/1480) flipped to the seasonal format for the first time after launching the new format earlier this year.
Elsewhere, several stations that switched to the Santa-centric playlist on Nov. 1 last year repeated the move this season:
- Marquette, MI: MediaBrew Communications’ “106.1 The Sound” (WFXD-HD4 and W291CJ)
- Bemidji, MN: Paskvan Media’s “1300/94.3 The Legends” (KPMI/1300 and W232DS/94.3)
- Brainerd, MN: R&J Broadcasting’s “Cash 95.9” (WWWI-FM Pillager)
After a Nov. 1 flip last year, Marquette Radio Group’s “94.1 The Breeze” (WUPK Marquette) made the changeover on Nov. 2 this year. Audacy’s “Mix 105.1” (WMHX Waunakee-Madison) also flipped on Nov. 2.
There are many more flips coming in the days and weeks to come:
- In 2022, most iHeartMedia stations that flipped to all-Christmas did so on the first or second Friday of November (this has been updated to reflect that some flipped on the second Friday)
- iHeart’s “Mix 96” (KMXG Clinton-Quad Cities) has a Christmas image on its website telling people to set an alarm for Friday at 5 p.m.
- At least one Duluth station typically flips in conjunction with the Christmas City of the North Parade, which will be held on Nov. 17
- Midwest Family Radio’s KCLH/94.7 (Caledonia-La Crosse) has a countdown clock to the launch of “Classic Hits-Mas 94.7” on Nov. 17
- Saga’s “104.1 EZ FM” (KOEZ Ames-Des Moines) teased on its Facebook page that its flip will be closer to Thanksgiving.
- QueenB Radio’s “Super Hits 106” (KIYX/106.1 Sageville-Dubuque) is counting down to a Thanksgiving Day flip
Continuing flips will be tracked on the 2023 All-Christmas List and in Weekly Log updates. You can also access the Christmas list from the menu at the top of most pages on the site.