Healthy cume for Sydney, healthy share in Melbourne: Smooth FM’s Peter Clay on Survey 5

It wasn’t everything they’d hoped for, but for Smooth FM’s Head of Programming Peter Clay, there are silver linings to be taken from GfK Survey 5.

Whilst Smooth 95.3 went from being Sydney’s #1 FM station to #3, its cume of 1,244,00 was the highest of any station in that city. In Melbourne, Smooth 91.5 is now just 0.1 share points off being the #1 FM station, in a highly competitive market.

In an interview with our sister publication RadioInfo, Clay says “Smooth Sydney is in a very healthy position cume-wise, and Melbourne is very healthy in share, because we’re 0.1 behind Gold, which was a fabulous result for us.”

Clay says it’s a testament to the hard work of teams around the country.

Clay observes that Smooth seems to get a lot of P2 listeners.

“If, for example, they’re a loyal listener to 2GB or KIIS or Nova, then their second radio station of choice might be Smooth. Our biggest thing for us to work on is our Time Spent Listening (TSL).”

Clay says during his early days in radio, he was always in awe of Fox FM’s massive cume.

“Even when in the 90s I worked at 2Day FM, you’d always look at Fox and go ‘Wow!’ You know – the biggest station in the country.”

“Smooth’s beaten that a few times, however we slipped underneath them this book with the highest cume in the country.”

Has Smooth the brand settled into its natural groove or is there room for further growth?

“I definitely think there is improvement left in it,” says Clay. “In Melbourne, you’re up against heritage brands of Fox and Gold and in Sydney you’re up against what is a juggernaut in Kyle and Jackie O, which is a brand to themselves”

“So I definitely think the awareness of Smooth in not only the Sydney and Melbourne markets but the DAB Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth … I feel like that’s got a lot of growth still in it.”

“Obviously when (listeners) come in and sample it, it’s my job and the team’s job to keep them there and squeeze as much TSL from them as we can.”

Asked for his thoughts on Kyle & Jackie O’s slight share improvement in this book for Melbourne Breakfast, Clay – who’s not been one to discount the controversial Sydney duo – observes that they are basically holding steady.

“I personally think they probably would have wanted a little bit more of a result in Melbourne by this stage, but also they probably weren’t thinking that Jase & Lauren, who were doing very well, were going to get picked up by Nova and are now sitting at the top spot in (FM Breakfast) in Melbourne.”

“I think probably their plans in the beginning for Kyle and Jackie O going into Melbourne didn’t have Jase & Lauren on an opposition station.”

Clay says Nova’s Group Programming Director Brendan Taylor and the team deserve credit for getting Jase Hawkins, Lauren Phillips and Clint Stanaway over to Nova.

“Obviously there was lots of discussion when they were let go by KIIS. Things were put on the table, they obviously shuffled around the shows, so to speak, and made room for Jase, Lauren and Clint, and right now when you look at the surveys and see those figures in Breakfast – 9.9 … I mean, it’s a great book for them, and a fantastic win.”

“They were very happy, and should be.”

Clay says there was clearly a lot of love shown by listeners when Jase, Lauren and Clint made the move to Nova.

“They had a lot of loyalty, and I think also just industry-wise, they had a strong following and a really good support base.”

“Not knowing them very well myself personally, I just think they had a great following, they had loyal listeners and they had supportive industry folk that wanted to see them do well, and that was evidenced in all the publicity.”

Would they have achieved the same result at KIIS?

“I think, if they had have stayed there (at KIIS), yes, I think they would have got to these heights,” says Clay.

“But geez, I’m glad they’re doing it on Nova.”