With the second radio ratings survey now released, the lay of radio land is starting to become a little more clear for 2023. One broadcaster that this is certainly true for is Nine Radio, which saw 2GB regain the #1 spot, 3AW assert its dominance, and Perth and Brisbane continue to establish fresh lineups.
To discuss these results, Mediaweek caught up with Nine Radio‘s head of content Greg Byrnes.
2GB
“The market is as competitive as it’s ever been,” said Byrnes. “Survey one probably showed that things are starting to get back to normal. Talk tends to be a little bit slow off the blocks depending on the news cycle and I’m very pleased to say that the news cycle over the Christmas period summer was pretty quiet. Today is a reflection about things getting back to normal and what Ben [Fordham]’s done is really strong, a high 14 in breakfast and that’s helped carry on right throughout the day.”
When asked about the importance of rankings as opposed to total share and cume audiences, Byrnes said that the broadcaster’s main focus was doing the best content.
“We’re competitive and certainly no one’s shying away from increased competition. It fires everyone up. It’s been pleasing for 2GB to be back #1 today. It’s one of the best survey twos on record for the network. We’re really pleased for the 2GB team, right across the day in every shift there’s been an increase. That’s the 2GB we know. It’s a reflection of the content.”
3AW
When asked about 3AW which continues to roll on, Byrnes said the results were quite extraordinary.
“Neil Mitchell’s managed to put 1.1 share on his survey, that’s off a 16 already. The numbers in Melbourne are quite extraordinary and they continue to hold. We are well into football now so that obviously brings more listeners to 3AW. We’ve refreshed the football team and that is sounding great on air. It sounds great across the day and figures like today just empower them to keep doing more, because it’s obviously winning audiences and those loyal listeners that have been with 3AW for decades now are just sitting tight, which is great.”
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The Importance of Footy to Nine Radio
Sticking to Nine’s football coverage, Byrnes said that it was pivotal not just to Melbourne markets but to the Brisbane and Sydney markets too through the station’s NRL coverage.
“It’s important to the city that we broadcast them. Football is more than just a sport in Melbourne. We proudly refer to 3AW as Melbourne’s own, so obviously, the football will dominate. It’s not just calling ball by ball, it is commentary and discussion around everything football.
“Same with the NRL. Brisbane is a rugby league city and the success of the Broncos, Dolphins, Titans and the Cowboys to a certain extent this season reflects the mood of the city, same with Sydney. At 4BC and 2GB we need to reflect the mood of the city through what we do with our content. It’s not just a matter of the footy is back that’s great, these cities embrace their code and that leads our content.”
4BC
With 4BC going under a number of changes last year, Byrnes said that Survey Two was a promising result.
“It’s the best share results in more than two years and that’s off the back of Covid. It is the highest cume on record for a survey two with a good bump in breakfast. Ray Hadley has also had quite an extraordinary result. That breakfast and morning shifts have flowed throughout the day with Sofie Formica who’s doing a great job in afternoons and then Neil Breen with the new Drive Show.
See Also: Why Sofie Formica swapped the TV camera for the 4BC microphone
“It feels like a long time since we relaunched 4BC but in the grand scheme of things it is still relatively new. It’s important for us to let people know where these broadcasters are now – whether it’s the new home for Laurel, Gary and Mark or those that may have heard Neil Breen on breakfast and need to know that he’s in Drive. It is a new look 4BC and in the grand scheme, it is still very new. We need to remember that sometimes when we want things to move very quickly, it takes a long time to turn some of these ships around.”
Laurel, Gary, and Mark 4BC
6PR
Similar to 4BC, 6PR in Perth has had a few major changes after making changes to breakfasts, mornings, and afternoons. Byrnes said that 6PR is effectively a brand new station.
“There is a nice base there for Perth, encouraging signs in relation to cume and TSL. It’s just up to us now to let people know from a content point of view that we do the best content each day and every day but also let people know where these people are and what we’re doing day in and day out.”
The impact of the political cycle
Byrnes has commented before in this publication about the positive and negative impact of the election cycle on Nine Radio station’s results. Off the back of the NSW election falling inside survey two for 2GB, he said that this continues to be the case.
“Elections are tough for us and the figures have shown that with various elections. The audience expects us to be dissecting all the policies, which we need to do, but there is a tipping point. Elections can be tricky, people will get a bit cynical just hearing politicians coming on and going through the motions and we’re very much aware of that. 3AW breakfast holds its head high as a politician-free zone and look at its figures.”