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.

Here is the playlist for the first hour of “Perfect Christmas Blend,” starting at 6 a.m.:

“Let's Get It Started” Black Eyed Peas

“The Christmas Song” Nat King Cole

“Happy” Pharrell Williams

“All I Want for Christmas” Mariah Carey

“Try” Pink

“Do You Know What I Hear” Johnny Mathis

“Viva La Vida” Coldplay

“Wonderful Christmas” Paul McCartney

“All About That Bass” Meghan Trainor

“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” Brenda Lee

“All of Me” John Legend

“White Christmas” Bing Crosby

“Take It On The Run” REO Speedwagon

“Christmas Eve Sarajevo” Trans-Siberian Orchestra

“Hot N Cold” Katy Perry

“Baby It’s Cold Outside” Dean Martin