Dave Cameron is ‘backing Mick Molloy’s vision’ with new solo Triple M Drive show despite mixed results

Southern Cross Austereo’s (SCA) chief content officer, Dave Cameron, has said he is backing the new solo Molloy Drive show on the Triple M Network, despite the churn and audience trialling which is currently occurring.

Cameron said the transformation of the Kennedy Molloy show into just the Molloy show was not “through any decision making process of ours”, appearing to shut down any implication former co-host Jane Kennedy was pushed from the program.

But he said despite the very late change to the lineup, he believes the show can work.

“I think sometimes you need to back-in talent when they have a vision for a show, and Mick’s vision was ‘Let me create this and bring in some friends of the show and see how it goes’,” Cameron told Radio Today after Survey 1’s results.

“So there’s a little bit of churn around that, there’s probably some trial going on, and obviously there’s Carrie & Tommy that have changed their offering on [the Hit Network]. There’s other new Drive shows, so there’s a bit of trialling going on, and we’ll just have to see how that plays out over the next few surveys.

“But it’s Mick’s vision and we back that in and embrace it, and it sounds good. It’s hilariously Mick, but we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

In the Drive slot, Triple M had a 5.9% share in Sydney, down 0.8 points from 6.7%. Its cumulative audience (cume) was down down 6,000 from 271,000 to 265,000.

It was also down 1.3 share points in Adelaide from 9.2% to 7.9%, with a cume drop of 7,000 from 109,000 to 102,000.

It was up in Melbourne by 0.1 points to 6.6%, with cume climbing a more significant 31,000, from 277,000 to 308,000.

Brisbane was also up 0.4 points to 10.8% with a corresponding rise in cume from 183,000 to 227,000 (a climb of 44,000).

In Perth, the Kennedy Molloy show last year went to air on Mix 94.5. In Survey 8 of 2020, Mix had an 11.0% share in Drive and a cume audience of 204,000.

The 92.9 frequency, which was then the Hit Network, had 11.7% and a cume of 236,000 in the timeslot. Molloy now airs on 92.9 as part of the rebranded Triple M, with a share of 8,3% in Drive and a cume of 175,000.

Former co-host Kennedy has also previously backed Molloy, noting the man behind the persona fought for equality and equal billing.

“Mick has a persona, and sometimes I think people don’t really get you, but I do, and you’re a sweetheart, Micky, and I do love you, and you know that. And also I don’t think people understand how much you do behind the scenes, and you never talk about it, and I’m not going to talk about it now, but I just want everyone to know that you’re such a good person,” she said on air in her emotional farewell to listeners.

“You also possess something that is very very important, and that is manners… and manners is very important. You can still have a bit of a laugh and fun and hoon around, but thank you Micky, for being a gentleman with me, also one of the first men in this country I will say, to absolutely insist on parity, which in this day and age of when you work in the workplace with men and women, there was no doubt that we’re treated as equals, and I just wanted to make sure that I let everybody know that from the word go, also even calling the show Kennedy Molloy… thank you very much for that Micky, that meant a lot.”