The Washup: Survey 4

Like any survey day there are good and bad results, and many flat ones. The programmers are the people who wear the results, whatever they may be.

For the Group Programmers, they always have a mixed bag – some up and some down.

We spoke to Duncan Campbell and Craig Bruce, Group Content Directors of ARN and Southern Cross Austereo respectively about their respective networks. We also got Jay Walkerden's thoughts after Nova Brisbane went back to #1 overall today.

Whilst Campbell was understandably positive about the Mix 101.1 result in Melbourne, he tempered it with the work required on Mix 106.5 Sydney; 

"The answer really lies with breakfast. The Melbourne show is performing very well on the back of a strong breakfast performance, the Mix 1065 breakfast show needs more work but we’re aware of the issues facing that show and it’s very much where our focus is when it comes to that station." he said.

However, Craig Bruce was clearly over the moon with 2Day FM; "The 2day breakfast result is terrific.We were always confident the numbers would eventually reflect the excellent content that the show continues to deliver. 

Both breakfast shows in Sydney are in great shape actually with the Grill team now ahead of Fitzy and Wippa as the clear number 3 FM breakfast show in the market. I know that Fitzy and Wippa are supposed to be the great white hope for DMG, they would be incredibly disappointed that this show has stalled so badly".

Craig gave his view as to why he believes the 2Day show is back in double figures and growing;

"They are the most interesting show on FM radio in Sydney. Amanda and Jonesy (pictured) are a brilliant combination too, but I think they have the best chemistry of any show in Australia and they have the most loyal fan base of any breakfast show I’ve worked with"

Duncan Campbell agrees with Craig's analysis of Amanda and Jonesy, and was clearly excited with the WS FM result: 

"It’s a reflection of the calibre of talent that we have in Jonesy and Amanda. They came back from the break in January determined to be more competitive and they’re delivering"

"It’s always challenging with adult formats but we’ve spent a lot of time on the music and invested in strong workday promotions and when you combine that with a potent breakfast show and high profile announcers across the day you end up with a successful station. It’s a great achievement for the whole WSFM team"

However, not every station can increase, and Campbell is philosophical about 97.3 being toppled from the #1 slot in Brisbane:

"Nova has done very well and credit where credit is due. I’ll be honest and say it was a surprise. We always knew Brisbane would be a competitive market that was up for grabs but we’ve done very well this year by maintaining #1 till this result." 

"We’ve got no plans to change anything on 97.3. We’ve got a very successful breakfast show and station. The whole team are passionate about success and we’ll regroup and focus our energies on Brisbane and I expect us to be #1 again this year."

Brisbane, however, was not a happy hunting ground for Southern Cross Austereo today. Craig Bruce is clearly not comfortable with where B105 being sub 10%; "Not happy Jan. Nova have done really well to bounce back from those brekkie changes at the end of last year. Well done to Jason and his team".

Clearly, the undisputed star of the Brisbane survey is Nova 106.9. Program Director Jay Walkerden was pleased with the result, but pragmatic about the work ahead. He commented;

"It feels good but we all understand there are another 4 surveys to go for 2012 and then of course there is next year and beyond".

"We will celebrate today but then get back into it tomorrow. I'm fortunate to be surrounded by a brilliant team of talented people who each played a part in today's numbers.

Walkerden particularly paid credit to the Nova 106.9 Breakfast Show;

"Ash , Kip and Luttsy (pictured) are just three mates who like each others company and don't mind sharing their lives with the market. I think it starts from that natural chemistry the boys have. Then the team around them from  pull it all together from producers, news , integration and production. At the risk of sounding like a knob it is a real team effort."

Whilst the 2MMM Breakfast Show may be #3 FM, overall 2MMM is well behind 3MMM, which is the #2 FM in Melbourne, behind Fox. Bruce commented; "You’re right, the Melbourne duopoly is on fire for us. I can’t remember the last time we were 1 and 2 in that market, but trust me, it’s been a while!"

"I continue to remain really confident about our chances for the second half of the year on 2mmm. I expect to see further growth in drive with Merrick, I think the Grill team will continue to grow and the elephant in the room is the male profile on Vega, some of that audience will end up somewhere other than Buble FM. I think it’s worth a point for us in Sydney."

Bruce went on to praise the Fox performance;

"Matt and Jo (right) are incredibly professional. I haven’t heard an “off show” on the Fox. They nail “the day”, everyday. They also have a brilliant support team around them, from Paul Dowsley to Troy Ellis and of course a very, very good programmer leading the team in Dave Cameron".

As a group ARN split the numbers today, with 4 stations up and 4 down. So how does Campbell feel about the overall performance of the network?

"I won’t be totally happy till all our stations are performing consistently well. We did well though 25-54 which is our target. In fact our 25-54 numbers were the best in five years." 

"Within ARN we’ve got a real determination to be more competitive and while we’re a small team we are committed and we’ve got some very good people. We know where the issues are, we continue to invest in our products and our talent and confidence remains high as we head into the second half of 2012."

And we had to ask Craig Bruce about Mix 94.5 being knocked off the #1 perch today for the first time in 100 surveys; "Congratulations to 96, it’s been a long time coming. I’m a huge fan of Adam Lang, he’s one of the great radio people and today is his day. Let’s see if we can take the title off him next book!!"

For all the results from today, see here.