It's no wonder WLIT loves going to Christmas music as early as they do.

How long has WGCI been in the 2's? I knew they were eclipsed by WVAZ but I didn't realize they were below the middle of the pack.

Wonder if WSCR's rating will get an even bigger bump from the Cubs given the fact that the games may be unavailable on TV for a portion of the fandom. Ratings in non baseball months have revealed the softness of the current lineup, and while the impending coaches shows with Holmes tossing softballs to Grandpa Rossy are cringeworthy to most longtime score fans it's highly likely the station devolves into WCUBS this season.

Let the Christmas radio battle begin.

In what’s billed as a first for local radio, WILV FM 100.3 is offering listeners a 50/50 split of Christmas music and mainstream hits for the next six weeks.

Starting at 6 a.m. Thursday and airing continuously through Christmas Day, the Hubbard Radio station will alternate holiday classics with songs from its regular adult-contemporary playlist. They’re calling it “The Perfect Christmas Blend.”

”For more than a year now Hubbard Radio Chicago has been committed to re-inventing the standard AC [adult contemporary] format,” Marty Bender, program director of Chicago’s 100.3, said in a statement. “In that spirit, we are presenting a new way to hear the holiday. This is yet another unique ‘touch’ for our growing and lucratively targeted adult audience. This isn’t a radio strategy as much as it’s simply giving our listeners a balance of the two types of music they want to hear.”

The preemptive move steals the spotlight from iHeartMedia’s WLIT FM 93.9, which typically launches its nonstop Christmas music in mid-November. Officials of 93.9 My FM, which calls itself “Chicago’s Christmas Station,” would not disclose when they planned to switch, but it’s likely that Hubbard Radio’s maneuver will force their hand by Thursday.

I'm really surprised they switch back as quickly as they do.

100.3 tried that a few years ago. The idea was that it would be half Christmas, half regular AC. This was spectacularly dumb: it neither went deeper into the library than 93.9 does, nor could it function as holiday wall-to-wall background noise. This was 2014 and I don't think they ever tried it again. You can't beat the king with a literal half-measure.

https://www.robertfeder.com/2014/11/13/ ... mas-blend/



I seem to remember WLS-FM in the '90s would break from simulcasting 890 to do all Christmas music.

Hows my hero Julie doing without the Cubs to prop up her numbers?

Not in the top 10

The lovely and talented Melissa Forman leading the way.

I see you too have been a longtime Feder reader!

[peels apple with pocket knife]

In MY day Carol Marin was Feder's thinly-concealed crush.

Wasn’t it Deborah Norville ? ( his not yours )

In fairness she was in here prime, and she did have a thing about her. Strawberry blonde, alabaster skin. Probably smelled good. Always looked a little disappointed.

In fairness she was in here prime, and she did have a thing about her. Strawberry blonde, alabaster skin. Probably smelled good. Always looked a little disappointed.