Sydney FM Ratings Rundown: Kyle & Jackie O back on top, where to now for 2DayFM Breakfast?

This year has already delivered some big surprises and movers, with GfK’s all-important radio ratings a talking point throughout the year as per usual.

Radio Today is breaking down all the big movers that you need to know about in each metro market, in our most detailed ratings analysis yet.

ARN

If ARN were disappointed by results in Melbourne, the return of Kyle and Jackie O to #1 on FM Breakfast will do a lot to ease the pain.

After a strong marketing campaign behind WSFM’s Jonesy and Amanda, the pair overtook their Breakfast stablemates on KIIS in Survey #5.

“I would have been very surprised if they hadn’t bounced back,” ARN national content director Duncan Campbell tells Radio Today.

“It’s an incredibly strong show [with] really embedded habitual listening.”

Now ARN has the #1 and #2 spots on FM Sydney Breakfast, with WS in a strong position with a 9.3% share of listening (-1.0) and KIIS back into double digits with 10.2% (+0.9).

WSFM also remains the market leader overall for People 10+ on FM, despite dipping in that metric as well to 10% (-1.3).

“Jonesy and Amanda have had their best year ever,” says Campbell, who also insists that the competition with their KIIS stablemates remains a “healthy rivalry”.

Will and Woody remain a concern in Sydney, falling to 6.9% (-0.1) on KIIS Drive. This could prove particularly troubling given Kyle and Jackie O’s upturn has not correlated into improved numbers for their Drive counterparts.

Despite their struggles, Campbell says ARN has no plans to change the show.

“There’ll be no talent changes at all this year.

“Our strategy with these new shows was to hire shows with chemistry, which is very hard to put together.

He does admit that bringing the former SCA Perth Breakfast hosts into National Drive was a “gamble,” and that they are not yet “resonating” in Sydney despite the strength of KIIS 106.5 Breakfast.

“There are those issues as well, it comes down to people coming in a sampling. Some stay, some don’t, but we need to make sure we keep the people coming in.”

Southern Cross Austereo

Not a lot to write home about for SCA Sydney in Survey #6, as flagship station 2DayFM had small rises in share of listening both overall and on the networks much-maligned Breakfast show to 3.6% (+0.3).

2Day’s ‘More Music, More Variety’ music strategy has been in place for the best part of the year, but with only two surveys left it appears to have done little to reverse SCA’s fortunes in Sydney, and the network’s best-performing stations remain their genuine CHR stations.

SCA may also be disappointed that Triple M Sydney’s results didn’t reflect their Melbourne counterparts, which saw gains across several metrics as more listeners tuned in for the lead up to footy finals.

Triple M was flat overall, with a  5.4% of listening among People 10+, while the Grill Team recorded a small rise to 6% (+0.5) and Kennedy Molloy fell to a 6% share (-0.7).

The priority moving forward must be 2DayFM Breakfast, but what comes next for the flailing show is anyone’s guess.

NOVA Entertainment

Survey #6 was a relatively steady book for Nova 96.9, but following the spectacular results of the previous set of ratings, there’s certainly no cause for concern.

For People 10+, Nova fell slightly to 7.5 (-0.4).

Breakfast duo Fitzy and Wippa also dropped to 7.1 (-0.9) in what was a probably more of a correction than anything else following their best ever result in Survey #5.

“We expected them to be in the 7’s,” NOVA Entertainment group program director Paul Jackson tells Radio Today

“Being in that range is absolutely fine. We’ve got a very strong share number overall in the market.”

It’s also worth noting that Nova’s ‘Greatest Hits Workday’ lost share in Sydney in both the Morning (-1.1) and Afternoon (-0.7) dayparts.

Despite this, Jackson remains committed to the strategy.

“We play as many great hits as there are at the moment. We’re providing a broader selection and that’s how we’re positioning it to the audience.”

Sydney was once again a happy hunting ground for #1 national Drive show Kate, Tim and Marty who improved on their already impressive numbers, landing on a 12.8% share (+0.6).

Jackson predicts that the next year could see the powerful trio go even further. 

“Their gap could widen. It’s a top show at the top of its game really, he says.

Sydney’s smoothfm remains just as strong an offering as it does in Melbourne, with the station coming out in second place overall among FM stations on 9.3% among People 10+.

It’s clear from Sydney and Melbourne’s smooth results in recent years that it’s a network that knows its identity very well and exactly what it is trying to achieve.

Catch up on Radio Today’s Melbourne Ratings Rundown here, and stay tuned for our continuing coverage for Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth this week.