Call it a Christmas tradition - a station playing all Xmas music for weeks and then launching a new format on Dec. 26th. That time honoured gimmick hit Buffalo on Wednesday, when a well known FM outlet there used the day-after-the-holiday to shift focus

What was called "The Mix 96.1" on Tuesday is now "The Breeze," a soft AC format. The station, which has a long history in the city, was once known as "WJYE" and called itself "Joy," It then morphed into a "Mix" branding and now is shooting "The Breeze." 

There's a list here of its first hour of music under the new Breeze banner it's hoping will attract bigger audiences. But according to the accompanying article, they were already trending upwards in the ratings. Perhaps the increase wasn't big enough and they decided to blow the whole thing up or they perceived a hole in the market and are trying to fill it.

One last thing about this station - it used to be easily receivable in the GTA, but once Classical 96.3 came along, it was just another Buffalo station crowded out by the signals of closer competitors.