Posted by Bah Humbug on November 16, 2008 at 17:11:13:
In Reply to: WLIT going Christmas tomorrow posted by chicagomedia.org on November 13, 2008 at 22:46:25:
A little late compared to recent years.
But I still think it's too early especially in our current financial state - since I'm BROKE and everyone else I know is broke and jobless, the concept of Christmas doesn't make me joyful like it normally would. It bums me out.
I won't be turning it on any time soon. 105.9 The Douche will be getting my ears.
: Emboldened by a forecast of snow in the area, Clear Channel's WLIT-FM 93.9 has decided to launch its annual holiday music blitz Friday morning at 8:30, a station spokeswoman said Thursday.
: The timing of Lite FM's switch to all-holiday music in the run-up to Christmas is annually a source of considerable speculation and anticipation and kicked off this year with the posting of a "Holiday Lite" countdown clock on the station's Web site on Nov. 1.
: This year's clock initially indicated the switch would occur Nov. 21, but it has been notoriously unreliable.
: The 2007 "Holiday Lite" countdown clock appeared online in late September last year, also indicating a mid-November launch of the annual Christmas music stunt. But the station actually started decking the halls on Nov. 2 because it was jockeying with CBS Radio, which was flipping WCKG-FM into WCFS-FM 105.9, a Lite FM challenger.
: WLIT was rewarded with a whopping 1.6 million listeners during December, nearly triple its cumulative weekly audience, according to Arbitron. In 2006, it also launched its "Holiday Lite" programming on Nov. 2 at the first local sign of snow and netted a reported 1.4 million listeners.
: Whether Arbitron's switch to Portable People Meters from diaries will prove nice or naughty to Lite FM's holiday ratings remains to be seen.
: (Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune)