Star 94.5 (WSTR) Atlanta flips to all-Christmas music through December 25, becoming the city’s only full-time holiday station in 2025 after the longtime Christmas king, 104.7 The Fish, shut down earlier this year.
The switch happened Wednesday morning, November 26, at 7 a.m., with the new morning hosts — Kevin Avery and Taylor Scott, who spent the last decade running The Fish’s holiday format — leading the charge. Avery wore a Buc-ee’s Santa onesie and drank eggnog from a “Naughty List Survivor” mug while laughing, “I never thought I’d play Amy Grant again.”
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| WSTR's Ken Avery |
Brand manager Emily Boldon, hired in April, said the station will blend traditional holiday hits with Star’s rhythmic flavor, including Christmas tracks from TLC and Destiny’s Child. “This is so fun,” she said on air. “After a tough year, people need this little bit of joy.”
The move fills the massive void left when Educational Media Foundation bought The Fish from Salem Media in 2025 and replaced local programming with syndicated K-Love content, ending its 23-year streak of all-Christmas Novembers and Decembers that routinely made it Atlanta’s No. 1 station in December.
Star 94.5 last attempted all-Christmas in 2019 (starting late on December 11) and ran weekend holiday music in 2024. This year’s earlier and longer flip is a clear ratings play, chasing the proven December surges The Fish once owned.