ATLANTA — Christmas is about five weeks away and there's already one Atlanta radio station playing classic tunes -- nonstop -- to get its listeners in the holiday spirit.
With Santa in the studio, Atlanta's 104.7 The Fish shared a video on social media on Friday, where the radio station kicked off the Christmas season! Counting Down from 10 -- the crew began playing popular holiday tunes. 🎶
"Right now, the Fish is kicking off all Christmas music through Christmas Day and beyond," the station shared in the video.
Creating a fun video is a new tradition for the Fish when it flips to the all Christmas format, according to Mike Blakemore, program director of the Fish and vice president of programming for Salem Media Group.
"Everybody has an opinion on when Christmas music should start," Blakemore said.
He said the Christian radio station normally starts playing Christmas tunes the Friday before Thanksgiving, but this time, they decided to start a little early because Thanksgiving falls so late in November this year.
"We determined that over the years, our ratings end up much better if we start early," he added, saying that some listeners find their station during the holiday season and become lifelong fans of the Fish.
While the Fish 104.7 is a Christmas radio station, they also play the holiday classics that everyone loves to hear, including music from their own Fish artists. Blakemore said they will most likely keep the holiday tunes going until Dec. 29.
Listeners will probably also hear them discuss Fish Christmas Wish during the holidays, a nonprofit program where listeners nominate someone in need to make a difference in their lives. Proceeds collected are used to help people during the Christmas season. For more information on how it works, visit here.
