Winter is nearly over and we’re over the hump for radio surveys for the year, the results of Metro Radio Survey 5 are in, and as always a few surprises are in store. Radio content, radio advertising, and individual and team radio personalities constantly affect these rankings. A summary of Metro Radio Survey 5 and its trends follow.
Beginning with Sydney, 2GB held on to its number one position for the 122nd time in spite of dropping by 0.6 points from the previous survey to a 13.4 share. Smooth FM retained second place and number 1 FM despite dropping by 0.8 points to a 9.1 share. They were followed by third place WSFM at 8.4 share who held a narrow 0.2 lead over fourth place KIIS at an 8.2 market share.
Getting into the individual dayparts, 2GB’s Alan Jones interestingly was relatively unscathed post his recent comments regarding NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and continued his reign as head of Breakfast with only a small drop of 0.3 points to a 17.1 share. Second place still belonged to KIIS’s Kyle and Jackie O as they gained 0.1 point to reach an 11.0 share. Third place belonged to WSFM at 8.2. However, there was movement in the Drive rankings. The new leader there is NOVA 96.9 with Kate, Tim, and Marty at 9.5 share. In second place is KIIS at 8.9. Ben Fordham at 2GB dropped to third place in the Drive segment with a loss of 1.6 points to fall to an 8.7 share. Only 0.4 points behind 2GB is fourth place Smooth FM at 8.3.
Once again, Melbourne’s 3AW remained in the top slot despite a 0.4 loss to reach a 15.2 market share. FOX FM remains at second place with a 0.4 gain to 10.2. Likewise, GOLD 104.3 stayed put at third place with a 0.8 gain to reach a 9.8 market share. Smooth FM gained 0.6 but remained in fourth place with a 9.4 ranking, 0.4 points behind Gold 104.3. In the Breakfast time segment, Ross Stevenson and John Burns from 3AW dropped 0.9 market share but still retained a sizable lead at 18.6. FOX FM with Fifi, Fev and Byron still held its second place ranking despite a 0.5 fall to a 10.0 share. NOVA 100 remained in third place gaining 0.4 points to reach 8.6. Also, Gold 104.3 remained in fourth place and gained a full 1.0 share to reach an 8.0 market share. A new leader emerged in the Drive slot with FOX FM at 12.3. 3AW slipped to second place at 11.4. Third place belonged to GOLD 104.3 with a 1.4 share gain to hit a 10.5 market share.
In Brisbane, NOVA 106.9 remained in first place with a 0.8 gain to arrive at a 12.5 market share. 97.3 FM shattered its previous tie with 4KQ with a huge 1.7 gain to reach 12.2. 104.5 TRIPLE M remained in third place with a 0.4 gain to reach 10.8 market share. NOVA 106.9 again won both the Breakfast and Drive dayparts with a 12.7 and 15.9 share respectively.
Heading west to Perth, NOVA 93.7 remained in first place with a 14.4 market share. MIX 94.5 held on to second place with another drop, this time losing 0.4 shares to arrive at 11.7. Third place has now been taken over by 96FM with a 10.7 share. NOVA 93.7 again leads in both the Breakfast and Drive segments with market shares of 15.5 and 15.3 respectively.
In Adelaide, MIX 102.3 still leads gaining ground to 13.3. FIVEaa is still in second at 11.0, and NOVA 91.9 is in third with the same 10.9 market share from Survey 4. FIVEaa’s David and Will again won the Breakfast slot although they dropped 0.2 points to reach a market share of 13.8. NOVA 91.9 again won the Drive slot although they dropped 0.1 points to 13.8 share. Second place in Drive is MIX 102.3 at 13.1.
Overall Nova Entertainment is the number 1 network in Australia with a share of 9.2% and cumulative audience of 3,553,100.
Again another interesting survey with a bit of movement around the networks around the country and certainly some controversy on air during the last survey period. We thank the dedicated people at GFK for their accurate metrics for this dynamic medium. We always depend on these numbers to lend us insights into the industry and assist our clients in managing in staying on top of trends and reaching the right audiences to drive results. Keep your eye on us for more commentary as the year moves on and the weather warms up again.
