I can't remember any station across the Country starting their All-Christmas Music format any earlier than Halloween.....Until now.

This from Inside Radio:

----------------Indianapolis get the first all-Christmas station--------------

Honors of having the first all-holiday format in 2007 go to Indy’s WNOU which jettisoned its CHR “Radio Now” format this afternoon – 77 days before Christmas. After the holidays Emmis will move WIBC’s news/talk format to the FM dial and launch an all-sports format on WIBC’s current AM 1070 home.

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I guess we won't hear "Monster Mash" on WNOU but maybe they already played it on Labor Day!

2 other things that are interesting is that another major News/Talk outlet is moving to FM and the #5 station in town is going away, to be replaced by the #4 station! The latter point is reminiscent of when Buck Owens changed the #2 station in Bakersfield to a simulcast of the #1 station. The result was that a short time later, another company took the old call letters and format and became the #2 station!

"...and now, the rest of the story": 52 hours after the format change, another company bought the intellectual property and put it back on the air on another frequency. The first station said they would release any of their old announcers from their noncompetes and hoped the new company would hire them. It looks like everybody gained from this one, particularly the former Smooth Jazz station!

That also seems to be a trend. The way 'we trash a format" is to go All Christmas and for a more extended period. In lieu of a permanent change in format after the holidays, it seems. Just another way of hyping a change over the next 3 months.

The Christmas transition.....what a hoot !

Last year, "Thunder Country 94.9" KIOK flipped to Christmas music, only to become "94.9 The Wolf"...with the exact same Country format. Laaaaame!

Yeah I was there, at KIOK. Its my "retirement from radio" Alma Mater. Lame is right. It was all about 'image change'. Not format change, or so I was told. I , then , didnt fit thier image anymore. Too old. But thats alright when I hear thier live and VT'd young person jocks howling like wolves at least once an hour as a program element. You can imagine what that sounds like. Some have a better yelp than others so its laughable.

And I can guaranty you that had I stayed and the PD asked or told me to do the howl, I wouldnt have been there much longer ! Which might one of the reasons they didnt ask me back on the air, they knew I wouldnt partcipate in such silly ass behavior.

In case anyone feels like listening to some Christmas music early...

mms://uni1.emmis.streamaudio.com/WNOU_FM?SAT=88f6f8624ed76568b2bc127de05f5cc8&ts =1192348226546&s=1393&y=2007&m=10&d=14&hh=0&mm=50&ss=25

It is the WNOU stream.

Someone had their Christmas lights on their house tonight on Sunnyside Rd. between 172nd and Damascus.

Already!!!!!!

Some stores are having Christmas sales now.
Some are putting out Valentines Day cards, already.

Seems wrong.