Hit Network: Gemma Fordham
Gemma Fordham
2Day FM: “2Day FM and Rove and Sam both increased in share, and breakfast has also had a large cume gain – 20,000. The station now has the highest cume since Kyle and Jackie left. It is certainly a step in the right direction. Hamish and Andy also had a nice gain in Sydney. We have now had three consecutive books with cume increases while some other stations are losing cume. We are still nowhere near where we would like to be though.”
The highlight for the network was Fox which Fordham said was critical to success in Melbourne where SCA is #1 overall and in breakfast at both stations. “The cume for Fox is just insane with 116,000 extra this survey! Fifi and Dave also have the biggest breakfast cume in Australia – 610,000.”
Hit 105 slipped in Brisbane after what Fordham called a “sensational result” in survey two. She noted that has something to do with Osher Günsberg’s absence on some days while filming for TEN. “That is a bit of a shame, but I am confident that number will bounce back.”
ARN: Duncan Campbell
Emotive’s Simon Joyce, ARN’s Ciaran Davis, Hozier and ARN’s Duncan Campbell
Network: With the KIIS and Pure Gold brands down in both Sydney and Melbourne, Campbell told Mediaweek: “We always take a long-term approach to the stations. There are no real trends behind this week’s numbers and the network continues to offer good results. The two disappointing results this week were WSFM in Sydney, which we didn’t expect, and Melbourne was very disappointing but we still have confidence in our strategy there. There will be no wholesale changes and we expect to get the numbers we want by the end of the year.”
Perth: “Hughesy and Kate growing in Perth shows that programs with strong content delivered by unique and intriguing personalities resonate.”
Campbell took the time to note that Triple M, like the ARN brand, fails to be consistent. “And 2Day FM is facing some tough decisions which they have to make at some point because the station is not relevant in Sydney at the moment. Once the commercial market loses confidence in a show you have nowhere to go but to make a change. It is very difficult to find new talent and a real challenge for the industry.”
Nova Entertainment: Paul Jackson
smoothfm Sydney team: Richard Wilkins, Melissa Doyle, Bogart Torelli, Cathy O’Connor, Paul Jackson, Byron Webb, Peter Clay, David-Campbell and Ron Wilson
Jackson noted the success both nationally and market-by-market for both their brands, calling survey three “outstanding stuff”.
Nova Sydney: “This is close to a best for Fitzy and Wippa with them in second place.” The content boss noted the higher profile APD Sarah McGilvray has on the show was a contributing factor to the growth. With the Sydney station underperforming in the past, Jackson noted: “My job is to stay calm and play the long term.”
smoothfm Sydney: “Unbelievable.” The station is #2 FM in Sydney and breakfast is just 0.5 behind WSFM. “In the core demos we are getting right on top of them.” After ranking #1 twice last year, Jackson is hopeful for even more surveys on top this year. With WSFM spending on marketing, Jackson said his product was about “word of mouth on a very strong product”. He said WSFM chases smoothfm too much. “Maybe they have lost some of the focus of what made them great.”
Nova Melbourne: The KIIS and Gold breakfast shows are the first scalps for Chrissie, Sam and Browny. When asked if the program was modelled on The Hot Breakfast, Jackson replied: “Not at all. I’ve never really heard that show.”
Triple M: Mike Fitzpatrick
SCA’s Mike Fitzpatrick with former Triple M colleague, WSFM’s Brendan Jones
Melbourne: “The Hot Breakfast share of 9.5% was not quite a record after we did 9.6% last year. However, a share of 9.5% puts us 3.1 points ahead of our nearest non-SCA competitor. We have created a show which is must-listen radio to the people of Melbourne.”
Despite the network dropping in its three other metro markets, Fitzpatrick said there was nothing too concerning: “Adelaide remains consistent with a 10% share although there was a surprising drop in drive.
“Sydney is consistent and as long as The Grill Team is over 6% we are doing well. I thought there might have been a bigger jump in NRL on weekends. We do have more listeners than any other football broadcast in Sydney.”
He went on to explain how Triple M dominates the AFL football broadcasts in all its markets. “In our 20th year of AFL we are able to deliver more listeners than ever before.”
With the SCA stations dominating in Melbourne, when asked about the bronze medal, Fitzpatrick said it would probably go to Nova with what he called “a stronger lineup”. Asked if Nova 100 breakfast had modelled itself on The Hot Breakfast, he replied: “Without a doubt. Most of the decisions for that station are made out of Sydney. They have looked at how we dominate Melbourne by being hyperlocal and they have gone ‘Quick, put a footballer in there.’”