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December 25, 2018 12:08 pm  #1


Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

To me, this is the worst 48 hours for radio in the entire year. If you’re not into Christmas, there’s not much to hear anywhere on the dial. One of the things I learned very early from my first PD was the absolute imperative of consistency. When people turn on your station expecting something, it should be there, whether they tune in at 4 PM or 4 AM.
 
But for some reason, all that goes out the window on Dec. 24th and Dec. 25th. And as a major consumer of the medium, it makes this time period almost unlistenable.
 
And so, because I essentially have no life, I decided to take a few trips up and down the dial to see who was doing what. What I found was that far too many stations had abandoned their core formats and turned it all over to Xmas. I won’t regurgitate the entire list here, but I monitored every local AM & FM station in the area at midnight and again at 9 AM, to hear their programming. It was surprising to me some of those that went all Yule, all the time.
 
Jazz-FM, for instance, was playing Christmas music. So was 94.9 The Rock from Oshawa, hardly what their normally harder rock audience might be expecting. How does Classical 96.3 justify throwing out its longhair music and going all holiday songs? Or CHUM-FM of all places?
 
Indie 88.1, The Move 95.3, HTZ FM 97.7, Virgin 99.9, CFNY 102.1, CFPT aka ELMNT 106.5 and Q107 carried on as usual. All the other FMs were all Christmas.
 
Over on the AM side, things were even stranger, considering that band is mostly talk. While 680 News kept it up all night, despite a lack of real stories, I noticed that on Xmas Eve, CKGL, 570 News, was airing Christmas programming (it was back to normal in the morning.).
 
All the sports stations stayed with their format, but most of the talkers were gone, including CKTB and CFMJ, which offered some tired but classic old time radio shows, CFRB, supposedly Canada's top talk station, played nothing but Christmas music all night and day. (Did they actually air the live Coast to Coast AM? I was sleeping by that time and didn’t hear it. But I doubt it.)

In fact, in an irony that can’t be lost on anyone, only CKNT, Sauga 960, kept airing regular talk shows, although I suspect they were all rerolls. Almost everyone else on AM had Yule as the rule.
 
Thank God for Funny 820, which outside of airing a brief “Radio Humber Xmas Special,” stayed true to the laughs and was able to "stand-up" to the holiday. As a loather of the same festive music over and over and over on every station, it was my go-to spot on Dec. 24 and 25th, just as it was last year.
 
Which brings up a final question or two. I know Christmas is a big deal and a lot of people celebrate it. Which is great. But why does almost every radio outlet in this market feel like they have to go hog wild on the holiday, or that only their station must air nothing but the same tired Christmas crap over and over and over because obviously no one else on the dial would think of such a thing?
 
The other point to be made is that Toronto is acknowledged around the world as perhaps the most multicultural city on the planet. That means a large and growing part of our population, including Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and even atheists, don’t celebrate Christmas at all. And frankly, neither do some Christians. Wouldn’t it make sense to program to some of them during that 48 hour gap?   
 
It always amazes me how easily stations abandon their stated programming missions when Dec. 25th rolls around. I’m honestly not sure what they should be airing during the dullest day of the year, but shouldn’t they at least make an attempt to stay in format?
 
That’s my Christmas wish. Maybe next year, it will come true. 

 

December 25, 2018 8:35 pm  #2


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

grilled.cheese wrote:

I can now sleep safe at night knowing who did what during Christmas on Toronto radio. 

Please be sure you're using My Pillow before falling asleep. 

     Thread Starter
 

December 26, 2018 11:13 am  #3


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

No one was investing in Corus Entertainment on Christmas Eve, that's for sure.  

Traded at $4.25 during the session.     S-a-a-a-y someone posted that Ol' Mose Znaimer is having a good year; maybe he or Lou Schizas will take out long-suffering shareholders       

 

December 26, 2018 12:12 pm  #4


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

My Pillow reference, Corus stock price, Christmas programming analysis. This post is headed to SOWNY bingo. Next up, CKNT follies and continued tribute to SOWNY God Emperor Mike Stafford.

 

December 26, 2018 12:16 pm  #5


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

Chrisphen wrote:

My Pillow reference, Corus stock price, Christmas programming analysis. This post is headed to SOWNY bingo. Next up, CKNT follies and continued tribute to SOWNY God Emperor Mike Stafford.

I just heard on CKNT that Mike Stafford cashed in his Corus stock to invest in My Pillow after listening to the Christmas programming on 640. 

There. That should cover all the bases...

     Thread Starter
 

December 26, 2018 12:45 pm  #6


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

RA, I too am glad the 24/7 "Holiday Hits" format has been put to bed for another year. I can handle two or three Christmas tunes an hour mixed in with regular music. But it seems today you have a choice of 100 % yule crap or nothing at all. Because I tend to be somewhat cynical, my favourite Christmas song is "The Twelve Pains Of Christmas" by Bob Rivers. Truly a song the CHFI's of the world would NEVER EVER add to their playlist.

 

December 26, 2018 6:13 pm  #7


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

Here's another hazard of putting your station on auto-pilot while everyone is on vacation.

For the past three days, CKTB in St. Catharines has been using Old Time Radio shows on Christmas Eve and Xmas Day and on Wednesday, they segued into "best of" year-end programming.  

But they've also repeatedly been airing a promo for CTV News at 6, with CFTO anchor Michelle Dube noting that school girl killer Paul Bernardo is heading for court hoping to get a parole date. I've heard this announcement at least five times in the last 48 hours and it's likely been on a lot more than that.

The problem? That promo is from the middle of October. How something that old remains in their system is beyond me. (And by the way, to no one's surprise, Bernardo was denied a date for release.) I can only wonder how many more times this two-months-old-plus spot will run until someone comes back to the Yates St. H.Q and takes it out of the run.

Radio automation is a wonderful but potentially job killing invention.

Except when it doesn't work. 

     Thread Starter
 

December 27, 2018 12:36 am  #8


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

I agree RA, I found the holiday music on Newstalk 1010 really disappointing, like getting sweat socks from Santa when you were a kid, as in, really, that's the best you can do right now, it's Christmas for Pete's sake.

Thank god there's World Junior Hockey, and Toronto Mike/Steve Dangle podcasts to check out during this limbo... Yea Morgan!!!

And then Terry O'Reilly's 'Under the Influence' new season starts up the first week of January on CBC radio, so we've got that going for us.

 

December 27, 2018 1:12 am  #9


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

On a very ironic note, CFRB used to go live on Christmas day, taking calls from people who would like to say hello to family members long distance for free...this was a good 20 or so years ago.
Today a phone company owns CFRB/NT 1010 and yet they are too cheap to allow this to happen? 
Irony at it's best!  
 


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

December 27, 2018 12:41 pm  #10


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

I did a 14 hour shift in my tow truck Christmas day and had Rock 95 on locally, then The Edge on a run into the GTA, and FM 96 London on a trip to Stratford. . Very few Christmas themed songs played on all 3 . Thank you Lord.

 

December 27, 2018 1:04 pm  #11


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

betaylored wrote:

And then Terry O'Reilly's 'Under the Influence' new season starts up the first week of January on CBC radio, so we've got that going for us.

I love that show as well. O'Reilly released a "video" previewing some of the topics in the new season, which starts Jan. 3.

Terry O'Reilly Pumps The New Season

     Thread Starter
 

December 28, 2018 7:47 am  #12


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

mic'em wrote:

I did a 14 hour shift in my tow truck Christmas day and had Rock 95 on locally, then The Edge on a run into the GTA, and FM 96 London on a trip to Stratford

   
Never thought I'd post the following but here goes . . .

FM 97.7 The Beach (now part of the MAX network) has become listenable locally, after their format change.     Tim Hortons even has it going.   There was almost a riot a couple years back when patrons demanded that they change the station to Rock 95 or 104.1 the Dock, and Tim's servers explained that the tuner was in the store manager's locked office and they couldn't get to it.     We volunteered to cut the power at the breakers, but Tim's servers cautioned against that.    It was the day we moved to McDonalds for coffee, instead.    

A day that will go down in infamy.
 

 

December 28, 2018 12:54 pm  #13


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

I am finding after a month now that the Max playlist is very short. There was a lot more 70,s 80,s and 90's stuff they could and should be playing.

 

December 29, 2018 11:07 am  #14


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

mic'em wrote:

    the Max playlist is very short. There was a lot more 70's 80's and 90's stuff they could and should be playing.

           

Agreed; hope they're paying attention to this listener feedback forum.   RadioActive should consider sending them a bill


 

 

December 30, 2018 11:06 am  #15


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

Well I did a tow to New Liskeard yesterday . Started out on Rock 95 Barrie until the Huntsville area , then CKAR Huntsville but signal faded near Powasson. Went with Kiss 100.5 North Bay to Temagami, then CJTT into New Liskeard. They had a Top 40 format until 4 pm, then switched to  classic rock . Side note, it was -27 degress in New Liskeard. By the time I got back to Orillia around 10 pm it was -10. I had Fresh 93.1 Barrie on from Bracebridge until back in Collingwood. They had the live broadcast from a bar in Midland on air. I still like that dance mix stuff driving at night. Reminds me of the old CFNY days.

 

December 30, 2018 8:18 pm  #16


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

It seems car radios with included shortwave capability are, in the parlance of Bruce McCulloch, as rare as a man's tears/

 

December 30, 2018 9:05 pm  #17


Re: Consistency Or Christmasy?: Who Did What On Toronto Radio

Chrisphen wrote:

It seems car radios with included shortwave capability are, in the parlance of Bruce McCulloch, as rare as a man's tears/



 

     Thread Starter