All-Christmas radio: One of radio’s most profitable gimmicks
There’s something in the air this holiday season, and it’s not just the smell of eggnog and gingerbread houses. If you haven’t noticed, holiday music — from “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” to “The Little Drummer Boy” — is back on the radio. All-Christmas music programming might just be one of radio’s most profitable gimmicks.
WEZW is a small, automated, 4,000-watt radio station in Atlantic City transmitting to Cape May County in southern New Jersey. WEZW is the very first radio station in the nation to go all Christmas music, 24 hours a day, beginning Oct. 17, a full two weeks before Halloween.
Gary Fisher, the president and owner of Equity Communications, WEZW’s parent company, says, “When we go to all Christmas, our ratings double, and under our signal, we become the No. 1 station in Cape May County. As a result, our revenues explode.”
According to him, flipping is like a Christmas present to this small station, providing an additional $250,000 in revenue each year. “The beauty of Christmas radio,” he says, “is that every retailer is a candidate for a Christmas promotion. Every retailer wants to make their year by powering out Christmas sales.”
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