Radio Ratings: COVID-19 sways Aussies to AM band in Survey 2

Welcome to Radio Today’s coverage of the second GfK metro radio survey of 2020.

These ratings come at a challenging time for radio, and the wider media industry, as Australian and global workforces navigate a tough economic climate due to the coronavirus.

The travel and social distancing measures forced Commercial Radio Australia to declare a ratings pause, so Survey 2 will be the last until the second half of 2020 at the earliest.

Nevertheless, we’ll be here to bring you #1s and major talking points today, from 9:30am AEDT.

Keep an eye on talk formats and the ABC this book, with regular news updates on COVID-19 likely to shift listening away from music formats.

Survey 2 also sees the return of Nine Radio’s 2UE, Magic and 4BH to the ratings.

As usual, hit the refresh button throughout the day for the top takeaways from each metro market, and later in the week for our chats with content directors from the major networks.

*Survey 2, 2020 was conducted by GfK for Commercial Radio Australia between Sunday, February 9 to Saturday, February 29 and March 1 to Saturday, April 4.

SYDNEY:

#1 FM Overall – smoothfm*
#1 AM Overall – 2GB
#1 FM Breakfast – KIIS: Kyle & Jackie O
#1 AM Breakfast –   2GB: Alan Jones
#1 FM Drive – Nova: Kate, Tim & Marty / KIIS: Will & Woody*
#1 AM Drive – ABC Radio: Richard Glover*

• Following a summer dip, smoothfm regains top billing among FM stations in Sydney, a position it occupied for most of 2019.
• Smooth holds a 9% share of listening (+0.9), and holds a slender lead over close rivals WSFM on 8.9%. 
• Talk stations saw their share increase amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with 2GB up +1.6 to a 14.8% share, and ABC up +0.7 to 9.6% overall.
• Alan Jones on AM Breakfast has a big jump of 3.1%, while Kyle & Jackie O maintain their lead on FM Breakfast, up to 10.2% (+0.3).
• Richard Glover claims the over #1 Drive spot, with a +2.6 gain to 11.7%. 
• FM’s Drive crown is shared by KIIS FM and Nova, both on 9% (with Kate, Tim & Marty losing -1.3 in the process.

MELBOURNE:

#1 FM Overall – Gold FM
#1 AM Overall – 3AW
#1 FM Breakfast – Gold: Christian O’Connell
#1 AM Breakfast – 3AW: Ross & John
#1 FM Drive – Nova: Kate, Tim & Marty
#1 AM Drive – 3AW: Tom Elliott  

• There’s little movement in Melbourne in terms of the top-billing shows, as Gold FM held the #1 spot on FM and 3AW did the same on the AM band.
• 3AW picks up share, up +0.6 to 13.9%, as do the ABC with a bump of +1 to a 9.7% share of listening.
• All FM Breakfast shows lose share (with the exceptions of triple j’s Sally & Erica, and Gold’s Christian O’Connell), as talk Breakfast shows prove popular. 
• The Ross & John goliath grows to 17.3% (+1.4).
• Melbourne’s Drive listening reflects the overall shift to AM amid COVID-19, with Nova’s #1 FM Kate, Tim & Marty the biggest faller (-1.0 to 10.3%) and ABC’s Rafael Epstein the beneficiary of a +1.8 increase to 8.9%.

BRISBANE:

#1 FM Overall –  Hit105 / 97.3FM*
#1 AM Overall – ABC Radio*
#1 FM Breakfast – Hit105: Stav, Abby & Matt*
#1 AM Breakfast – ABC: Craig Zonca and Loretta Ryan
#1 FM Drive – Nova: Kate, Tim & Marty
#1 AM Drive – ABC Radio: Steve Austin*

• After a strong start out of the 2019 ratings gate last survey, Triple M falls from top spot this book, as stablemates Hit105 claim top billing, sharing #1 spot with ARN’s 97.3FM.
• Both stations hold a 10.5% share of listening, just ahead of Nova on 10.4%.
• The biggest gainer this book is ABC Brisbane, up to an 8.4% share of listening (+1.2) to be the top AM station.
• Hit105 is the big winner this survey, doing the double with wins overall and for Stav, Abby & Matt on Breakfast. The show bucks the trend of listeners moving away from AM for news updates, growing to 11.8% (+0.4).
• ABC and 4BC both gain share on Breakfast too, and ABC repeats the feat on Drive with Steve Austin, to be the market leading AM station in all three metrics.
• Nova’s Kate, Tim & Marty remain easily the #1 Drive show in the market.

ADELAIDE:

#1 FM Overall – Mix
#1 AM Overall – ABC Radio / FIVEaa*
#1 FM Breakfast – Mix: Jodie & Soda
#1 AM Breakfast – ABC Radio: Ali Clarke
#1 FM Drive – Nova: Kate, Tim & Marty
#1 AM Drive –  Cruise: Mark Elliston*

• Adelaide’s only commercial talkback station FIVEaa is the big winner this book, with a noteworthy gain to 11.3% share of listening (+3.2), moving within striking distance of market-leading Mix and past AM rivals Cruise1323 this book.
• FIVEaa shares the position of #1 AM station with ABC Adelaide. 
• Significantly, three out of the top four stations are on the AM band, with listeners clearly seeking more talk amid coronavirus uncertainty.
• ARN’s Mix dips to an 11.9% share (-0.7) but is still the top station in the city.
• AM stations dominate the Breakfast stakes, with big gains for both ABC’s Ali Clarke in top spot and FIVEaa’s David & Will in second. 
• Jodie & Soda are still #1 on FM Brekky, ahead of Nova’s Ben & Liam in just their second survey in the market.
• Despite gains for AM stations, Kate, Tim & Marty are still #1 overall on Drive.

PERTH:

#1 FM Overall – Mix*
#1 AM Overall – 6PR*
#1 FM Breakfast – Nova: Nathan, Nat & Shaun
#1 AM Breakfast – ABC Radio: Nadia Mitsopoulos & Russell Woolf
#1 FM Drive – Nova: Kate, Tim & Marty
#1 AM Drive – 6PR: Oliver Peterson

• The shift towards AM this survey was perhaps least evident in Perth, as Mix94.5 claimed the title of #1 station overall.
• It’s a strong bounce-back by the SCA station, rising to a 12.8% share of listening (+2.3) as FM rivals Nova and 96FM drop share this book.
• 6PR makes gains of +1.0 both overall and on Breakfast, but Nova’s Nathan, Nat & Shaun remain easily the #1 show in that daypart despite a -2.0 dip.
• Mix’s strong performance overall is also reflected on Breakfast, with a rise to 10.6% (+1.9).
• Kennedy Molloy also benefit from the strong overall form by their station, and are up into second spot on Drive with 11.9% (+2.9), with only Nova’s Kate, Tim & Marty ahead of them.

Stations and shows marked with an asterisks [*] denotes a change from the last survey.