SCA’s Matthew O’Reilly: “It’s been a rough day in Sydney”

SCA has long prided itself on consistently capturing the all-important 25 to 54 demographic, its slogan for which is ‘The Audience That Matters.’

So the irony isn’t lost on Matthew O’Reilly that, the way things currently stand, SCA’s Sydney stations don’t seem to matter all that much to the audience that matters.

With 2DayFM and Triple M having both taken a hit in GfK Survey 7 – including share declines in both Breakfast shows – O’Reilly – SCA’s Head of Broadcast Content – admits it’s been a rough day in the Harbour City.

In his post-survey interview with Radioinfo’s Steve Ahern, O’Reilly says today’s results are certainly not reflective of the effort put in by the local teams.

“I was there last week. I know how hard everyone is working, and that’s probably what makes it tougher.”

O’Reilly says recent strategy meetings were held to determine the way forward.

“A couple of tweaks have been made out of that which we haven’t got on air yet, or have only recently got on air, but won’t be part of this book,” says O’Reilly.

“We’ve got initiatives we’re going to roll out. We just need to keep working hard, and I’m talking about both Sydney stations there.”

“We’ve just got to hang in there and keep working hard enough for it to turn in our direction.”

What’s pleasing is Triple M’s #1 result in both Brisbane and Adelaide.

Asked about the formula for winning in those markets, O’Reilly points to a unique music format, backed by a strong heritage.

“We’ve kind of evolved the strategy of Triple M in recent years to be more a Good Times, Greatest Hits station and that’s really paying off, particularly in the Adelaide and Brisbane markets.”

O’Reilly notes that Triple M also has a ‘clear lane’ in those markets. Right now, for example, Triple M Adelaide doesn’t have a Gold or Smooth competitor to worry about on the FM band.

With The Fox team of Fifi, Fev & Nick now Melbourne’s #2 FM Breakfast show, O’Reilly says “I think that the secret for them is just how hard working they are. They have so many events and activations.”

“There wouldn’t be a week go by where they’re not out of the studio.”

Finally, on the technical issues affecting the streaming of SCA stations via Google smart speakers, O’Reilly says “We have had a bit of audience feedback. I know our tech team is working with Google on getting that fixed ASAP.”

“I believe it will be resolved soon.”