For Adult Contemporary stations, the December- and Christmas-period ratings are a throwback to a time when the big radio station in a market routinely had double-digit shares. In the just-released holiday Nielsen PPMs, KOIT San Francisco PD Brian Figula and staff had a 15.5 share in San Francisco and a 22.7 in San Jose 6-plus. On Christmas Day itself, the San Francisco number was a 34.8 6-plus.
What does that sound like? Ross on Radio writes about numerous Christmas stations every year, and while there has been consensus on holiday hits for nearly two decades now, we did see some noticeable differences, particularly those stations relying even more on ’50s/’60s MOR artists. Here’s what we noticed about KOIT on Christmas Eve.
Presentation:
- Four jock breaks an hour, including going into stopsets;
- At least one business/listener shout-out (sometimes via a phone bit with the listener);
- Six cold segues an hour;
- More continuity with the year-round feel of the station than some others. Less of the whimsical/atmospheric imaging we’d heard on some stations;
- Emphasis on “the Bay Area’s Official Christmas Music Station.” Secondary references to “feel good,” also the station’s secondary positioner during the year (after “today’s hits/yesterday’s favorites”);
- Device promos built into sweep-starters.
On-Air Promotion:
- A 31-hour commercial-free Christmas starting that evening at 7 p.m. and sponsored by KTVU-TV’s holiday log;
- Teasers for the $1,000 Employee of the Day contest beginning January 3. The contest also has a $500 “referral bonus” for submitting somebody else’s name. Promos emphasize “all local winners.”
Music:
- Not as old-sounding as some of the stations heard last fall, but still with an average year of 1978;
- Four newer covers of older titles, although that now includes Vanessa Williams from 1996;
- According to Mediabase, roughly 3:30-4:00 turnover on big single-artist titles on Christmas Eve.
- Some hit titles (“Jingle Bell Rock,” “Last Christmas,” “Frosty the Snowman”) with multiple versions covering different styles or eras could play 90 minutes apart, or closer in the case of “Sleigh Ride.”
Here’s KOIT on Dec. 24 just before the 2 p.m. changeover from Tricia Ferguson to Sue Hall:
- Michael Bublé, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
- Ronettes, “Sleigh Ride”
- Jimmy Durante, “Frosty the Snowman”
- Sarah McLachlan, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”
- Paul McCartney, “Wonderful Christmastime”
- Carpenters, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
- Frank Sinatra, “Silent Night”
- Band Aid, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
- LeAnn Rimes, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
- Vanessa Williams, “Do You Hear What I Hear”
- Andy Williams, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
- Percy Faith & His Orchestra, “We Need a Little Christmas”
- Kenny Loggins, “Celebrate Me Home”
- Vince Guaraldi, “Linus and Lucy”
- Michael Bublé, “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (2021)”
- Burl Ives, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
In December, KOIT’s promos for the post-holiday format promised that it would return with an “updated mix,” something the station continues to promote. Here’s KOIT on January 24 during the same hour with p.m. driver Morris Knight:
- Meghan Trainor & John Legend, “Like I’m Gonna Lose You”
- Justin Bieber, “Love Yourself”
- Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
- Alicia Keys, “Girl on Fire”
- Britney Spears, “Toxic”
- Seal, “Kiss From a Rose” — with a ’90s stager
- Sia, “Unstoppable”
- Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, “One Sweet Day”
- Lady Gaga, “Paparazzi” — KOIT has not just ’90s stagers, but also has them for ’00s songs, as those become an identifiable era. This one mentioned One Tree Hill and The Big Bang Theory.
- Lewis Capaldi, “Someone You Loved”
- Police, “Every Breath You Take”
- Taylor Swift, “Wildest Dreams”
- Selena, “Dreaming of You”
The first two days of holiday ratings brought 15-16 share books for a number of stations, including WBEB (B101) Philadelphia (16.8), KESZ (K-EZ) Phoenix (16.7), KQQL (Kool 108) Minneapolis (15.8), and WNIC Detroit (15.7), followed by WLIT (Lite FM) Chicago (14.8) and KEZK St. Louis (14.8). All the ratings stories are available on RadioInsight’s ratings page, along with the latest summary.
Two years ago, I wrote about the experience of scheduling holiday music for the first time in 2019. The numbers are gratifying. The juggling of titles and eras are far more extreme than those usually dealt with in Classic Hits or gold-based AC. Most of those observations were still true in fall 2022, although this year, there was also the peer pressure to go even older/more traditional. Here’s “What I Learned From Scheduling Christmas Music.”
