News October 27, 2015

Radio Ratings Survey #6: Full analysis

A big day around the country with Survey 6 released this morning.

Another win in Sydney for 2GB, while smoothfm is again number 1 FM. In Melbourne 3AW are on top, whilst FOX FM takes a clear lead in the FM battle.

Brisbane sees 97.3 dominate. In Adelaide Mix102.3 has clear blue skies, and in Perth Mix 94.5 leads once more.But who dominates Drive?

First, check the summary pages below:

MELBOURNE

Wow, talk about movements, Melbourne has plenty of change, expect some big celebrations with some networks, and some big boardroom meetings at others.

SCA

Fox has had a big jump of nearly a point to a 9.2 share, and to take the #1 FM ranked position overall, and not by a small margin either, Fox is #1 FM by 1.1 (over Gold).
Increases in all demos, but in particular teens and 18-24’s, and the dayparts have all improved….with Hamish & Andy #1 in drive overall, and #1 FM in drive by over 3 points. Clearly now in Melbourne the dominant FM Drive show again.
A big day for Fox, there will be much cheering in South Melbourne.
Triple M on the other hand has lost the #1 FM position, and slipped to #4, quite the slide. Overall Triple M have fallen by 1.1%, with 40-54 doing the damage.
Triple M’s Breakfast show held up well, falling by just a touch, and remaining #1 FM, but after that the station has fallen away significantly.

Over in Richmond, Nova Entertainment have had a ripper result, with both stations seeing strong improvements.
smoothfm has jumped 1.3% to move into #3 FM overall, driven by an increase in all demos – particularly, and unsurprisingly, 25+.
Strong daypart performances by smoothfm, Brekky has jumped a point to move ahead of KIIS (more on that soon), and the daytime figures have also seen strong growth.
A strong result for smoothfm Melbourne.
At Nova 100, this result will be both pleasing for NE and a relief; probably in equal parts. A jump of 0.7 has moved them out of last place, into the #5 ranked FM position (ahead of KIIS).
A solid demo performance, and while they don’t win any demos outright (aside from teens), they have grown 18-39 nicely in this book.
Nova will also be pleased to see Meshel & Tommy move from last place in (FM) Breakfast into #4 (ahead of smooth and KIIS), with a solid flow-on into daytimes.
And in Drive, whilst Hamish & Andy lead, Kate, Tim and Marty have not lost share to Fox, and in fact have improved by nearly a point to a 9.5 share in Drive.

ARN

KIIS Melbourne have had a bad result today. Down 1.3 to a 5.9 share, and now in last (commercial) FM place by a fair way – around a point overall behind Nova.
There’s really nothing good for KIIS Melbourne in these figures; losses in all the key demos, losses in every daypart.
Hughesy & Kate on Drive have been impacted badly in their home market by the Nova/Fox combination, with Drive on KIIS falling 1.7 to a 7.9 share – well behind Nova and Fox.
In Breakfast, KIIS has a lot of work to do. The Matt & Jane show is in last place on a 5.7 share, although the tightness of Melbourne means it is 2 points behind Fox Breakfast.
On sister-station Gold, the station has slipped a little, with 40-54 causing the decline largely…but Gold remains in a strong position as #2 FM.
The big daypart challenge for GoldFM is Breakfast, which has slipped by 0.8 to be some way behind station average, no doubt this will be a focus to improve.

Fairfax/Macquarie

Big day for 3AW with a massive jump of 1.7 to get back to where they used to be on a 14.3 share. #1 station overall by a mile.
All looks good here for 3AW, demos are prettyy good – excluding a small dip 55-64 – and dayparts are great. Neil Mitchell has seen a huge increase of 2.2% to a 15.5 share, and is a dominant #1 in the daypart.
For Magic, largely flat.
The demos and dayparts didn't move much, and Magic is sitting on a 3.7 share overall.

Pacific Star

On the surface probably a slightly disappointing result for SEN, moving back a touch overall at the business end of the footy season; but highly doubtful SEN sells any results on 10+ performance, it's all about males and the demo's really.
In the demos, 40-54 jumped up a handy 1.2% to be on 6.7 overall, although 25-39 and 55-64 slipped a bit.

ABC

A bit of a meh result for the ABC in Melbourne with 774 largely flat, but the distance between it and arch-nemesis 3AW stretching courtesy of 3AW's growth.
774 didn't do badly, in fact 55-64 were excellent, and they saw growth in Breakfast (#2 overall) and Evenings (also #2), and a lot of stations would kill for a 10.2% share in Melbourne!
triplej declined a touch overall to 5.5%, driven by 18-39 decline, mainly in the workday. But triplej bounces around a little, so unlikely they'll be too concerned.

SYDNEY

Melbourne was the city for movements today, Sydney is generally pretty flat and uneventful in comparison.

A solid day for Nova Entertainment. Not spectacular, but solid, and generally given a choice any network will take 'consistently solid' over pockets of spectacular any day.
smoothfm is flat on an 8.2% overall, and again the #1 FM station in Sydney.
A few little demo dips and jumps here and there, but it all adds up to a pretty strong result for smoothfm, and one they'll be pleased with.
For Nova 96.9, a slight increase will be welcome, with the station nestled in at #4 FM just behind WSFM.
That said, the good news for Nova was a slight increase for Fitzy & Wippa, which has moved them ahead of Triple M.
Overall for Nova Entertainment, a pretty good day in Sydney.

ARN

For ARN they'd be pleased that KIIS Sydney had an increase to balance out, a little, the KIIS Melbourne result. Sydney up by 0.3 overall, and #2 FM behind smoothfm.
In breakfast, Kyle & Jackie up a bit and sitting in #2 FM Breakfast behind Amanda & Jonesy – increases across the day, and a big increase of 1% in Drive for Hughesy & Kate will be welcomed. Drive is in the #2 FM position, behind Nova.
A dip for WSFM, down to #3 FM overall, with the rough demo for them being 40-54 – albeit still the #1 station there.
Breakfast on WS is #1 (FM) with Afternoons falling heavily by 1.3, and this having an impact on drive.
In Drive, WSFM is on 6.8% – equal with both 2Day and Triple M.

SCA

It's not a great Sydney result for SCA, with both stations declining and both firmly lodged in the bottom two FM positions in the market.

2Day has fallen to a 4.0 share overall, every demo under 54 declined, with the 10-39 share being savaged.
The daypart story isn't any prettier, with Breakfast falling nearly a point to a 3.1 share, daytimes falling about the same.
Even the great white hope of Hamish & Andy hasn't addressed the 2Day challenges. Whilst they improved, given the lead-in they were only able to add 0.3, and register a 6.8 share. This puts them, in their first full survey, well behind KIIS and Nova in drive.
Triple M has also fallen, to a 6.0 share.
The 25-39's did it, falling 2 points, and whilst Breakfast held up well – in fact is very competitive, daytimes appear to be the problem. A core building block of Rock stations are solid workday figures, and Triple M isn't delivering those at the moment in Sydney, or Melbourne.

Macquarie/Fairfax

Pretty flat all round for the 3 stations; 2GB back a bit but #1 by a mile, 2UE and 2CH both up a bit.
Really not a lot to see here – perhaps the most notable moves were Alan Jones on 2GB falling by 2 points – but hell he's got plenty of ratings, he can afford to lose a touch! And 2UE improving in Mornings by 1.3% off a consistently growing Breakfast lead-in.

ABC

A good day for the ABC in Sydney.
triplej has moved up a touch, off the back of a monster jump in 18-24's – clearly they snagged some heavy diaries.
702 has had a ripper result, up a point to 8.9 overall, all driven in the demos that count, and the increases across all dayparts, so a good sign for the station moving into the last couple of books of the year.

BRISBANE

While suffering a drop 10 plus, ARN’s 97.3 takes out the top spot in Brisbane but did they win Breakfast?

ARN:

Another stellar run for 97.3 in Brisbane. While shaving nearly a full point off their 10 plus result, they still command the Brisbane market.
97.3 had losses in all age demos this book with a similar story for all dayparts except nights, which increased.
In Breakfast, 97.3 lost its lead to Spencer on 612ABC. He now has a 14 share with Robin, Terry & Bob down a little to a 12.5 share. But they are a full point or more ahead of Nova106.9
Stablemate 4KQ remained steady with an 8.2 showing. KQ had a slight nudge in 40-54’s but lost over 3 points in 55-64’s.
Great news for 4KQ Breakfast – up this round along with Mornings. Afternoons and Nights dropped with Drive steady.

SCA:

Ripper result for hit105, up a full 1.2 points this book but they are 2.7 points behind market leader 97.3.
Stav & Abby had a nice 1.7 jump in breakfast. The Hamish & Andy effect is also seen, Drive jumping almost a full 3 points but not enough to take out Hughesy & Kate on 97.3, who are the new number 1 Drive Show.
hit105 had a jump for anyone under 39 with the biggest in 18-24’s.
Over a Triple M, they are also up, cementing their third place overall with a 10.3 share. Triple M had good increases in the upper end demos but lost ground in 25-39’s.
Every daypart for Triple M is also up. Mornings and Arvo had the biggest increases, The Grill Team with Marto and Ed up .6 with a 9.7 share.

NE:

A rough one for Nova 106.9. They have lost 1.6 points ten plus, and dropped to 10.9.
Breakfast took a big hit with over 2 points evaporating, seeing the team pull an 11.4 but still placing them third in Brisbane overall.
With NE taking a hit in all dayparts, the Brisbane Drive battle tightened up. Kate, Tim & Marty on Nova have fallen 3.5 points, their dominance in drive is gone, at least for this survey, with Hughesy & Kate on 97.3 leading (just) over Hamish & Andy.

MRN/Fairfax:

Another round and another 10 plus increase for 4BC, while small they’ll take that. That said 4BC had losses in the upper end demos – anyone aged 40 plus down. In Breakfast – Alan Jones remained flat, Ray Hadley down a bit but finally we see an increase in their Drive result. It’s up to a 4.2 share.
Over to Magic882, down to 4.2 share off 4.9 last round. Most dayparts are down, the only ones to remain steady or up a smidge are Drive, Afternoons (up) and Nights.
They took a hit in their heartland demos but increased in 65+.

ABC:

A strong 10 plus increase for 612ABC. They are up a full 1.2 points in Survey #6 and so close to double digits – a 9.8 this round. But it is Breakfast where they shine. A 14 share sees them as the number 1 breakfast show in Brisbane. All other dayparts are up along with the demos from 25 plus onwards.
For triple j, not so flash. Shedding 1.8 points to pull a 7.1 share. While 10-17’s are up, 18-24’s and 25-39’s took a whack. It also saw Breakfast lose a fair chunk, down from 8.5 to 6.6 this book. All other shifts took a hit as well.

ADELAIDE

Melbourne has been volatile, and Adelaide is not much different…plenty of movement going on in this book.

SCA

SCA will be over the moon with Adelaide, not only because hit107 has had a strong result, but because it appears to have come directly from Nova.
hit107 has moved up 1.5% overall to a 9.3 share, it's highest for a long time; and off the back of increases across 18-64 – in particular a big 18-39 performance which has seen the station reclaim the #1 18-39 position.
hit107 is now #1 18-24, 25-39, and 18-39….something that seemed unthinkable only 6-months ago.
Big jumps everywhere, with the workday figures doing the heavy lifting, and whilst Hamish & Andy improved, the station went up by more in other dayparts, indicating this is not a completely H&A led recovery.
Triple M back a touch, on an 8.8 share, with a bit of fluctuation here and there, however with all due respect to the Triple M Adelaide team, at SCA all eyes will be on hit107 today.

ARN

A mixed day in Adelaide for ARN, but not a bad one in the sense that their big station Mix had a very strong result – jumping to a 15.2 share, and increasing it’s overall lead in the market.
Mix dominates 40-64, and is competitive 25-39 and even down to 18-24….the demos are pretty solid.
The ‘bookends’ did the work for Mix in this result, with Breakfast up 1.7%, and Hughesy & Kate on drive up 1.5% and into the #1 position in the market – moving ahead of Nova.
Cruise has fallen to an 8.4, and sits in the lowest ranked commercial position.
Down in all the demos and dayparts – but let’s not forget, this is an AM music station on an 8.2 share overall so pretty impressive.

Ouch. Not a good result for Nova Adelaide. Down 1.2 overall, down 18-39 heavily, and have lost the #1 position. Down heavily across the workday, and drive has had a tumble from the #1 position to be equal #2.
Nova 91.9 has done well for a long time now, so you wouldn’t be writing them off, but certainly they’ll want to turn this result around before the survey year ends.
FIVEaa however is chugging along quite nicely, down a touch, but generally pretty flat.
The dayparts were largely down, with the AFL-centric drive show up by 1.1% to be equal #2 (with Nova). With the Crows knocked out of the finals early, this may come back a bit next book

ABC

A flat result for the ABC in Adelaide with ABC891 stable, and triplej down a touch.
891 was pretty stable everywhere really, with Evenings seeing a reasonable decline of 1.1% overall.
And again, triplej was pretty stable as well….up here and there, down here and there, but overall not much movement of note.

PERTH

And finally to the west, where there has again been some big movements.

ARN

96FM is in a state of relaunch at the moment, new PD, new branding, new shows – lots of changes. Sometimes that works immediately, sometimes it means an initial hit, and sometimes it doesn't work. Only time will tell which of the latter two it is. For the moment however, 96 is having a rough time of it.
Down overall to a 9.4 share, and slipping into last place of the FM stations in Perth.
All the adult demos were down, which is no doubt a worry for ARN, and the demos were impacted heavily as well.
Markedly, the two dayparts most impacted were the ones that have changed – Breakfast and Drive, both which fell heavily and both of which are in last place.
Plenty of work to do on 96FM for ARN to protect those chunky profits from the west – particularly given the massive multiple they bought the station for.

SCA

It really has been a strong day for SCA, with the exception of Sydney which remains in serious trouble. Perth has been very good for them today.

hit92.9 has had a strong result, up over a point to an 11 share – first time in double figures for some time.
The demos are great, and whilst they won't be #1 18-39 (that honour stays with triplej) they will either narrowly sneak ahead of Nova, or narrowly just duck in behind Nova – either way, it's game on in Perth.
Big demo movements for hit92.9 – Breakfast into double figures, daytimes up, and Hamish & Andy in drive moving into the #2 position, and within striking distance of #1.
And for Mix, well steady as she goes. Flatt-ish on a 14.3.
Bit of a hit 25-54, but the older end made up for it, and the dayparts are solid as a rock.
A big day in Perth for SCA. The Eagles in the Grand Final, Nat Fyfe wins the Brownlow, and both stations do well….beer and prawns on ice in Subiaco today.

Whilst hit92.9 has done well, Nova hasn't rolled over – in fact they've increased their share quite nicely thank you very much.
Nova 93.7 has moved up 0.4 to a 12.1% share, and a solid #2 position.
Breakfast #1, Drive #1, Nights #1 (FM), daytimes competitive and doing the job, Nova Perth will be watching hit92.9 closely, but at the same time pretty happy with where they sit.

Capital

6IX is down a touch overall, and sits in last place in the market, but probably don't care.
The station would probably never sell on 10+, just on environment and demos – and in the demos they do okay. 55+ they're doing alright, and whilst from a music station perspective Mix rates higher, 6IX probably charge a third of the rate so they'll be quietly doing their thing.

Macquarie/Fairfax

A stable result for 6PR in Perth – flat on a 8.4 share overall.
The demos jumped around wildly, but all balanced each other out in the end. No massive daypart moves, Afternoons and Evenings took a hit, but weekends were very strong – unsurpisingly given Fremantle and West Coast both playing finals during the book.

ABC

triplej really is very strong in Perth, always has been.
Sitting on a 10.4 this book, and again #1 18-39, it's got some serious clout in the Perth market.
ABC720 copped a whack, down 1.1%, and it was driven out of a big fall in Breakfast, Mornings and Afternoons. That said, it's likely the station will come back, it always does.

Source: Radio Today