More than its counterparts in the commercial radio sector, SCA shines a light on its overall performance of its FM radio and its digital radio stations.
This survey the station was also keen to share the growth of its streaming and on-demand audience.
But in our look at the performance of the metro FM stations in GfK Survey 2, 2020, we start with SCA in the Queensland capital.
Brisbane delivered good news for Hit 105 breakfast where Stav, Abby and Matt are now #1, their show is also SCA’s best-performing metro breakfast show in share and has the second-best FM share of any metro breakfast station.
Photo: Matt, Christian, Stav, Abby and Ella at HIT 105 recounting the outback adventure
“The Brisbane station is equal #1 overall and breakfast has pulled away from the pack,” SCA chief content officer Dave Cameron reminded Mediaweek. “We are really happy where Brisbane sits for us after survey 2 and it is one of our strongest markets. The show has been working on crisis content creation and the results are very satisfying to us.”
As to the fall at sister station Triple M Brisbane, Cameron said: “The audience has settled after Robin Bailey departed. Margaux Parker is settling in well for us. The steady cume tells us that, but there is continuing to be sampling of various shows in the market.
“Every market is seeing some impact from peoples’ routines being upended.”
While GfK provides the official surveys, Cameron said there is additional data available to guide stations on what is working. “Podcast data is showing listening is going through the roof and that is the other thing we examine closely when measuring the engagement of our content. Catch-up radio is up 66% month-on-month. Habitual listening might have changed slightly, but people are picking up their favourite shows at a more convenient time for them at the moment.”
This could have ramifications for radio listening in the future. “New habits can be formed in 30 days according to some. We are going to have essentially four months of people completely changing their habit. Radio listening is habitual and what we might find is a massive rise in people enjoying our shows in catch-up. Particularly is working from home continues to be a part of many peoples’ routine.”
Away from the east coast, Cameron said he thought the change at Triple M Adelaide, where 10+ and breakfast with Roo and Ditts both lifted significantly, “was a bounce back from where it was at the end of last year”.
Roo and Ditts
Perth and the Mix 94.5 result put a smile on his face. “We know that Mix 94.5 is the heartbeat of the city and the station has been consistent for a very long time. There was some trialling with new shows that came into the market last year. The results from survey 2 prove that there is a really loyal audience attached to 94.5 and they have returned. We should also note the Kennedy Molloy drive result in a market where you are traditionally told that content from the east won’t fly in the west – the rise of Jane and Mick in that market is outstanding.”
Kennedy Molloy did well nationally with four out of five markets either stable or increasing.
Triple M Melbourne looks like it might be a basket case as share has slipped to just 5.0% and to 5.2% for breakfast. Things aren’t necessarily as bad as that might indicate though said Cameron.
“It is a show that has been on air a long time. What I would say is that it is a show that I have spent longer listening too than any other station over the past month because of the brilliant content it has been pumping out. We are seeing great streaming and download numbers for The Hot Breakfast. That is not converting into GfK numbers.
“It is a show that was first to have the Prime Minister, the Treasurer, and the first to break many stories. In has been running some of its best content recently from the past few years.”
When asked about breakfast cume of just 283,000 (less than half of Nova’s 578,000) Cameron admitted: “It has seen better days from a GfK point of view. But we remain encouraged by the other data we are seeing.”
He also noted that the streaming and catch-up data provided to market over the survey lockdown will become more significant for the ad market to trade with.
Asked about Sydney, Cameron said it was another promising result “for Triple M’s Moonman and Jess who are offering a real point of difference with their show. There is a real need for their style of content right now, perhaps more than ever.
“From a 2Day perspective, the result is one we will continue to get until we re-evaluate the breakfast strategy. We certainly wouldn’t be launching anything right now. You can assume we are looking pretty closely at what the next evolution of 2Day breakfast may look like.”
Cameron sounded like he and Hit Network content director Gemma Fordham know what will be next. “But I’m just not going to tell you,” was he harsh response to a plea for more information. “We have a short list of people that we think could make an impact at the right time.”