Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Like the Pink Pig and the Lenox tree lighting, Fish 104.7's pre-Thanksgiving switch to the all Christmas format has become a lovely Atlanta tradition.
Instead of having morning hosts Kevin & Taylor launch the proceedings this morning, the norm for many years, the Christian pop station for the second year in a row gave afternoon jock Beth Bacall the honors yesterday at 5 p.m.
For the past three years, Fish has been the only metro-wide signal to go all Christmas (though south-skewing Joy 93.3 typically follows suit as well.).
All our holiday coverage is here at www.ajc.com/holiday
B98.5, the mainstream adult pop station, dumped the all-Christmas format in 2012 after eight years as the station skewed younger. While all Christmas brings in huge audiences, many of the listeners were no longer compatible with B98.5's primary listeners. Although B98.5 no longer gets the big December bump, the station doesn't face a drop-off in January and February either. In fact, the station has drawn its biggest ratings ever the past two years.
The good news for the Fish is B98.5's departure from jingle bell land has benefited its ratings. This past year's Christmas boost led to the Fish's best ratings this year in a long time, with listenership far higher than they were in 2013.
The Fish blends secular and religious Christmas tunes sung by old-time artists (Bing Crosby, Andy Williams) and Christian ones (MercyMe, Jeremy Camp).
The first Christmas song of 2014 was "O Holy Night" by Atlanta band Third Day followed by "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" by Burl Ives, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Amy Grant, "Pure Imagination/White Christmas' by the Blenders, "Joy" by 1 Girl Nation and "Sleigh Ride" by Denver & Mile High Orchestra.
Modest translator signal at 98.9, which current plays Nash ICON country, began playing country-tinged Christmas on Thanksgiving.
Sirius/XM launched its Holly station Nov. 11, with multiple Christmas options forthcoming. Here they are in gory detail off their website:
Tuesday, November 11 at 12:00 pm ET- Wednesday, December 31 at 3:00 am ET
Holly (via satellite on channel 17)
will feature contemporary holiday music as well as traditional favorites, including songs by Idina Menzel, Kelly Clarkson, Josh Groban, Michael Buble, Mariah Carey, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Colbie Caillat, Whitney Houston and the cast of Pentatonix.
Tuesday, November 11 at 12:00 pm ET- Wednesday, December 31 at 3:00 am ET
Holly is also a year round online channel, on channel 781. http://www.siriusxm.com/hollyonline.
Holiday Pops (via satellite on channel 76)
will feature classical Christmas carols and other holiday favorites by the greatest classical musicians of all-time, including the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Boston Pops, Luciano Pavarotti, The New York Philharmonic, King's College Choir and Thomas Hampson.
Wednesday, December 24 at 12:00 pm ET- Friday, December 26 at 3:00 am ET
Country Christmas (via satellite on channel 58)
will feature a mix of country Christmas music from contemporary artists as well as classic country artists, including Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum.
Tuesday, December 2 at 12:00 pm ET- Friday, December 26 at 3:00 am ET
Navidad ( SiriusXM channel 785)
will feature contemporary Latin holiday music and with traditional classics, including Jose Feliciano, Willie Colon, Gloria Estefan, Marco Antonio Solis, El Gran Combo and Thalia.
Tuesday, December 2 at 12:00 pm ET- Wednesday, January 7 at 3:00 am ET
Holiday Soul (via satellite on channel 49)
will feature classic soul and Motown holiday music from the '60s and '70s as well as R&B from the '80s and '90s including Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Dionne Warwick, The Four Tops, The Supremes, The O'Jays, James Brown, The Temptations, Lou Rawls and Toni Braxton.
Friday, December 19 at 12:00 pm ET - Friday, December 26 at 3:00 am ET
Radio Hanukkah (via satellite on channel 68)
will feature a wide variety of Hanukkah music including contemporary, traditional and children's Hanukkah classics.
Tuesday, December 16 at 12:00 pm ET- Thursday, December 25 at 3:00 am ET
New Year's Nation (via satellite on channel 3)
is the ultimate soundtrack to New Year's Eve parties around the country and will feature the biggest, upbeat party hits from genres across SiriusXM's music platform.
Wednesday, December 31 at 12:00 pm ET - Friday, January 2 at 3:00 am ET
About the Author
