The radio industry opens itself up for examination again this week with the release of more radio ratings. The survey year is into its second half with the fifth of eight surveys dropping on Tuesday.
The Surveys are conducted by GfK and released by Commercial Radio & Audio.
Eight surveys do seem a lot seeing they start in mid-January and run until mid-December. However, if you suggest to TV people that radio is measured too much they laugh heartily. TV of course is measured every minute every day of the year.
Data from Survey 5, 2024 will help radio content heads plan the shape of their programs and stations for the year ahead. If there is an on-air combination not hitting its target ratings by this stage of the year, it’s unlikely to spark into life now. Or is it?
Radio executives will tell you how it takes time for an audience to change listening habits. It also takes time for the chemistry to work for a radio duo or team. That will happen until that day when the plug is pulled with time up. Sometimes a decision made by the board, or a frustrated programming executive tired of hearing from sales that they need some ratings figures to take to market.
Below is a look at the under-achievers and over-achievers in the two critical radio markets Sydney and Melbourne.
See also: Sydney Radio Ratings 2024 Survey 4: 2GB stays far and away at #1
WSFM’s Jonesy and Amanda
Sydney Radio Ratings preview
Who needs to improve: This is an easy one in Sydney. The SCA duopoly has long been a focus as a number of shows at both 2Day FM and 104.9 Triple M have been rolled out over the years. With just six FM licences in Sydney, ranking five or six is not where you want to be. 2Day has already pulled the plug on Hughesy, Ed and Erin. Jimmy and Nath are holding the fort at present and perhaps favourites to get the toughest gig in radio. Don’t overlook Mike E and Emma though who have just moved to weeknights and weekend breakfast at 2Day.
While there has been speculation about new Triple M breakfast in Melbourne, will SCA stick with Mick & MG in Sydney? If they don’t, Matt and Alex could be a good option given they already host an all-day breakfast podcast and are linked to the Triple M brand.
Quiet achievers: (Let’s ignore the compelling argument there are no quiet achievers in radio.) 2GB’s Ben Fordham has quietly snuck away to a massive breakfast share of 17.0% after slipping behind Kyle and Jackie O earlier this year. WSFM’s Jonesy & Amanda don’t do much wrong and a 9.1% breakfast share doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. Similarly longtime Nova 969 hosts Fitzy and Wippa, now with Kate Ritchie, have built a very successful competitive brand across 13 years. Breakfast with Bogart Torelli at sister station smoothfm 95.3 also deserves a nod. Both Nova Entertainment breakfast shows rank #2 and #3 in cume audience size in the market. Finally, what about Vossy and Brandy at SEN 1170 where share has climbed to 2.4%. They are not about to threaten Ben Fordham, but it’s an all-time high at the sports specialist.
Nova 100’s Jase and Lauren
See also: Melbourne Radio Ratings 2024 Survey 4: 3AW on top, Kyle & Jackie O flat
Melbourne radio ratings preview
Who needs to improve: This a little more challenging for the market in the midst of a radio war. It seems churlish to list Kyle and Jackie O here, but the fact is their station and the breakfast show are ranked six out of six commercial FM stations. That would then mean that Triple M needs a shake-up too at breakfast. Something which is well underway where the speculation seems to be that Dave Hughes might switch networks and appear on a station where he is yet to host a show. Rosie, Wil & Daisy are filling in now with Anderson unlikely to ever commit to fulltime breakfast radio again. For now.
It is also a bit rude to point of that three of the five commercial AM stations in the survey have a breakfast share below 1.0% of the market. It’s a tough gig selling AM in a largely FM world, but that is the challenge facing RSN 927, Magic 1278 and 3MP 1377.
Quiet achievers: A few to list here. Starting with #2 FM breakfast in the market. Given the hype and marketing spend behind Jase and Lauren they are hardly quiet achievers. But that doesn’t mean the size of their achievement hasn’t been a little bit underappreciated. Are they still enjoying a radio honeymoon, and how long will they need to perform before they are considered the real deal? Sister station smoothfm 91.5 is perennially overlooked. The station ranks #2 FM and breakfast with Mike Perso who is #4 but with a strong 8.6% share. That’s a good result against the marketing muscle flexed by the KIIS, Gold, SCA and Nova brands. SEN 1116 breakfast with Garry and Tim (and Bucks, Kane and Kingy on some days) is also firing this football season with share pushing above 5% last survey which must be close to an all-time high.
SEN’s Melbourne breakfast with Garry and Tim