A total of 115 stations are confirmed to have flipped to All-Christmas playlists at least ten days before Christmas in the Upper Midwest and Manitoba.
The number is higher if you count multiple signals that air some brands in the same market, such as the “Love 105” trimulcast in the Twin Cities, and numerous stations with translators.
Virtually all of the same stations flip annually, but there were a few new entrants this year. First-time flippers include Townsquare Media’s KRFO/1390 (Owatonna), Alpha Media’s “94.9 The Breeze” (KCPI Albert Lea), and R&J Broadcasting’s “Cash 95.9” (WWWI-FM Pillager-Brainerd).
Wisconsin has the most All-Christmas stations at 34, followed by Minnesota with 26 and Iowa with 24.
Madison and Milwaukee have the most seasonal options at four apiece. Conversely, Mankato has none after the station that had carried All-Christmas last year changed format and neither Classic Hits station has blinked from its usual playlist.
The bulk of the All-Christmas formats are heard on Adult Contemporary, Classic Hits, and non-commercial Christian stations.
Check out the updated Data Dump on the dates and formats of the flips, or inspect the whole list.
Have you noticed a missing station? Please let me know at jonellis@northpine.com!