93.9 Lite FM
With 50 days to go until Christmas WLIT 93.9-FM is ready to become “Chicago’s Christmas Music Station.” Starting at 4 p.m. Friday holiday music will begin airing around the clock for the 20th straight year.
The tradition has proved to be a fan favorite and a ratings bonanza every year without fail for the iHeartMedia adult contemporary station. The earliest they’ve flipped the switch was November 2 in 2006 and 2007.
Mick Lee
“After a year like 2020, we need holiday music more than ever,” said Mick Lee, program director and afternoon host at 93.9 Lite FM. “Listeners can count on us to help spread joy, hope and love across the city as we celebrate 20 years. . . . We’ll have fun contests, a few new surprises, and of course, the wonderful holiday music.”
To kick off the holiday format, Lee will be joined in studio virtually by morning host Melissa Forman and producer Jim Gronemann, midday host Robin Rock, syndicated evening host Delilah Rene, and Edison the Reindeer, longtime mascot of “Chicago’s Christmas Music Station.”
In addition to airing on the station and online at 939litefm.iheart.com, the event also will stream live at 4 p.m. Friday on YouTube. (Here is the link.)
Matt Scarano, president of iHeartMedia Chicago, said: “As the world spins into even more uncertain times, the holiday spirit is more important today than ever before. I am proud to bring Christmas music to Chicago for the 20th year in a row on 93.9 Lite FM.”
In the latest Nielsen Audio survey 93.9 Lite FM ranked fifth overall with a 4.3 percent audience share. If history is a guide, the station should be No. 1 by year's end.
Wednesday’s comment of the day: George Castle: WMVP at 1000 has the same night-time signal problem for Sox games as it did in its previous carriage and during predecessor WCFL's Sox tenure in the Fifties and Sixties. Its 50,000-watt signal is directional east at night. Jerry Reinsdorf recalled picking up WCFL in college in DC, but it can barely be heard in Kane County. People cannot listen to an MLB game on their computers, so WMVP will need to boost its Sox radio network in Cubs-friendly territory in downstate Illinois and Iowa. It's a challenge.