The latest Capital City Ratings results have been released.
Click on Nielsen Ratings in the left margin to see the overall rankings.

Demographics and shifts from Nielsen Media Research are now available for these cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth(Click on the city name to view the results)

In this winter survey, conducted for Commercial Radio Australia between March 28 – May 1 and May 9 – June 12, most talk stations seem to have benefited by football coverage, the Federal Budget and election speculation.

Triple M, which has made format changes in various markets and also covers football, has done well nationally. ARN has performed well in the 40-54 demographic in all markets and Nova continues to grow in the younger demographics around the country.

In Sydney, 2GB has regained top spot with the biggest jump of the survey (up 2.3 share points). Nova drops to second spot but was down on last survey. 2GB rival 2UE is also up by 0.9 share points. 2DAY fell by 1.7 share points while Triple M increased by 0.5.

2UE’s John Laws fought back, increasing his shift by 1.7 share points to bring it to 9.0%, still well behind 2GB’s Ray Hadley. Mike Carlton’s breakfast dropped slightly, in a survey which saw him sledging rival Alan Jones for his links with David Flint, while Jones’ 2GB breakfast increased by 2.2 share points. 2Day’s breakfast show dropped 1.9 share points.

Alan Jones has now achieved 100 survey wins in the Sydney market.

2Day still leads the 10-17 demographic, with Nova close behind. The 18-24 age group is dominated by Nova with 2Day second. There is a close race between Nova, Triple M and Mix for the 25-39 demo. WS FM leads the 40-54 demographic, closely followed by ABC702 and Mix FM, and 55+ is dominated by 2GB.

In Melbourne, 3AW increased its dominance of the market, rising another whole share point to give it a lead of almost 5 points on its nearest competitor. Triple M also rose strongly (up 1.3 share points) to move into second place. Fox suffered the biggest drop, down 1.7 share points to 10.3% and Mix 101.1 also dropped by 1 share point.

Talk stations 3AW and ABC774 lead at breakfast, with 3AW’s Stevenson and Burns gaining a 2.2 share point increase. Triple M and Nova both improved their breakfast shares.

Fox leads the 10-17 demographic, followed by Nova and Triple M. The 18-24 age group is dominated by Nova with Triple M second. Triple M leads the 25-39 demographic, followed by Fox and Nova. Gold leads the 40-54 demographic, followed by 3AW and ABC774, and 55+ is dominated by 3AW.

In Brisbane, market leader B105 dropped 1.2 share points, while stablemate Triple M edged ahead of New97.3, which was down 1.5 share points on last survey. 4BH scored the best increase of the survey, up 2.3 share points. ABC 612 was down 1.1 share points, but stablemate Radio National increased by nearly the same amount.

B105 leads the 10-17 and 18-24 demographics, with Triple M and 97.3 following. Triple M leads the 25-39 demographic, followed by 97.3 and B105. 4KQ leads the 40-54 demographic, followed by B105 and 97.3. 55+ is led by 4BH, closely followed by 4BH.

In Adelaide, SAFM was down by 0.9 share points, but still strongly ahead of second placed 5AA (up 0.4). Third placed Mix 102.3 fell by 1.2 share points, while Triple M had the strongest gain of the survey, up 2.1 share points.

Shift highlights include Triple M’s Kate Mac jumping 3.1 share points in morning and Dave Higgins scoring the same increase in afternoons. 5AA’s KG and Cornes scored the biggest increase for the station (up 2.1 share points), while other shifts fell, including Leon Byner’s morning (down 1.3).

SAFM leads the 10-17 demographic, with Triple M well behind. The 18-24 age group is now firmly in the grip of Triple M, ahead of SAFM. SAFM leads the 25-39 demographic, followed by Triple M. Mix 102.3 leads the 40-54 demographic, followed by SAFM. 55+ is 5AA, well ahead of ABC891.

In Perth, the market leader 94.5 slipped by 0.5 share points, ahead of stablemate 92.9 which increased by the same amount. Southern Cross 96FM and 6PR were both down by over one share point and ABC720 had the biggest gain (up 1.2).

92.9 leads the 10-17 demographic, followed by Nova. 18-24s is led by ahead of 92.9. 94.5 leads the 25-39 demographic, followed by 96fm. 94.5 leads the 40-54 demographic, followed by 92.9. ABC720 dominates the 55+ demographic followed by 6PR.

AUSTEREO

Austereo CEO, Michael Anderson, is celebrating Triple M powering up nationally and says the Today Network is travelling well overall, but there is a lot of hard work ahead for 2Day FM in Sydney.

Executive Chairman, Peter Harvie, says: “The results reflect the ongoing rebuilding of the Triple M brand and expresses confidence that the same creative skills will ensure the strong future of the Today Network.”

Anderson adds: “Survey #4 has very clearly demonstrated the rebuild of Triple M right around Australia. Talk about repaying the faith. Every station in every city saw a massive build in audience in its key demographics. The shows are firing.

“Triple M will continue to build. We said we would rebuild Triple M and we have! Our challenge lies ahead for 2Day FM. It will be a brave pundit who suggests we won’t be back and be back in a big way soon. No one should forget the Triple M turnaround.

“Kyle and Jackie O in the drive show are on right on the money of where the station is heading. Work is well progressed on the two main areas of focus – product and brand. We have absolute faith in the Judith, Kaz and Peter breakfast team. We are working together to
get the chemistry right with the listeners. We will get it right and will win back the listeners.

“In the most competitive battleground in Australian media, plenty has been written and said and there will be plenty more to come as competition continues to heat up. Austereo has and remains committed to having the two strongest networks in the country. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“There are highlights all over Australia:”

Sydney – Triple M is now Sydney’s #2 FM station, up 0.5%, with the largest gain of any FM station. The recovery has been led by strong results from comedy shows, The Cage at breakfast , Mick Molloy’s Tough Love and The Shebang at drive.

2Day FM dropped 1.7%, but Kyle and Jackie O are equal second in drive.

Triple M is now the number two FM station in Sydney with its third consecutive ratings increase. Austereo Sydney General Manager Patrick Joyce says: “Triple M is repaying all the faith we had in it. The new shows we put in place at the start of the year are really starting to fire and have rated well on word of mouth, with very little advertising.

“The rebuilding is right on track – this is a recovery led by some of Sydney’s best shows.”

The result was driven by the country’s best comedy shows, with The Cage at Breakfast, Mick Molloy’s Tough Love in the morning and The Shebang at Drive all showing significant increases.

Triple M increased its audience share in its target 25-39 age group by 1.9% to 14.1 share points, the largest ratings increase in the demographic by any FM station.

Melbourne – Triple M is Melbourne’s #1 FM station with a 1.3% increase to a 10.8% audience share. Ratings are up in almost every segment. Mick Molloy is up 1.8 to 10.3%, The Cage is up 0.4 to 10.6%, and The Shebang is up 0.4 to 11%.
Triple M has the highest cumulative audience on record with 815 000 listeners.

FOX FM is still a clear FM winner in drive, with Kyle and Jackie O ahead by 1.6%. Although down 1.7% overall, FOX is still Melbourne’s #2 station after Triple M.

Brisbane – B105 is #1 in Brisbane, #1 in 18-24s, and #1 in breakfast, mornings, afternoons and drive.

Triple M is #2 station, up 1% to 13.8, up 3.4% in 25-39s, and strong increases in every show – including breakfast up 1% to 12.1, and Tough Love up 0.9 to 15.5%.

Adelaide – SAFM is still #1 overall, #1 in 25-39s with a 2% increase to a 30.4% share.

SA.FM has won its 42nd consecutive radio ratings survey with a 19.2% share of the total audience. The result was helped by a gain in the morning show, with Sheridan Stewart and Rove McManus on Friday mornings, scoring a 0.2% increase to a 20.4% share.

Triple M is #1 in 18-24s with a 9.1% increase to a 37.1% share. It is #1 choice for 18-39s with a 28.2% audience share and has enjoyed strong increases in every show.

In Adelaide, Triple M’s “Totally Different” format has given the station a 2.1 share point ratings increase.

Triple M scored impressive ratings increases in every show in today’s Nielsen Media Research survey, with Kate Mac in the mornings increasing by 3.1 points to become the number two morning host.

The Cage at Breakfast, with local boy James Brayshaw, continued to build with a 2.2% gain to an 11.1% audience share.

Austereo’s Adelaide Program Director, Craig Bruce, says “It’s a great result for Triple M and it’s been driven almost entirely by word-of-mouth for our great shows.

“James Brayshaw and The Cage are really kicking goals and we’ve had fantastic early feedback for Mick Molloy’s Tough Love. We’re clearly the number one station for Adelaide’s youth.”

Perth – 94.5FM is still clear #1 station, #1 in every show, and #1 in 25-54s.

92.9 is #2 station in Perth, up 0.5% to 13% overall, and up 1.8 in breakfast to 14.2%.

A R N

The Australian Radio Network’s Classic Hits station, WSFM, is number one in the commercially-important 25-54 year-old demographic in Sydney.

The win was consistent with results across the nation with three out of the four Classic Hits stations – WSFM, 5DN and 4KQ – increasing their market share in ARN’s core demographic.

The Chief Executive of APN News & Media, Brendan Hopkins, says ARN’s Classic Hits and MIX stations continues to perform well, with ARN maintaining either first or second place in the 25-54 demographic in all key markets.

“The stand out result of this survey is Sydney, where the combined Classic Hits and MIX stations now clearly lead the 25-54 demographic in the largest market in Australia, with a 22.5 per cent share, ahead of the nearest competitor by 3.6 points.

“Our strategy of remaining focused on our core demographic and not being distracted by events elsewhere in the market has once again resulted in a solid survey for ARN.

“ARN’s unwavering obsession with the 25-54 demographic is continuing to deliver results. This demographic is core to ARN’s advertisers, representing 71 cents of every dollar spent in Australia.”

In Sydney, WSFM recorded an increase of 0.7 points to 11.8 per cent in the 25-54 demographic and gained 20,000 new listeners at breakfast. In all people 10+, the station gained 0.2 points, making it equal second in the Sydney FM market.

Sydney’s MIX106.5 is the clear leader in the 25-54 female demographic, recording a 15.7 per cent share.

In Melbourne, ARN stations GOLDFM and MIX101.1 held steady. In Adelaide, MIX102.3 maintained its position as the second most listened to FM radio station across all people 10 +. It also held the number two spot in the 25-54 demographic.

Classic Hits station 5DN recorded a significant increase in its breakfast time slot of 2.1 points to 7.9 per cent and in the 25-54 demographic it recorded a 1.4 per cent increase.

In Brisbane, Classic Hits station 4KQ performed well, increasing its market share in 25-54 demographic and also winning the 40-54 age bracket after recording an increase of 0.4 points. Overall, the AM station gained 22,000 new listeners – the biggest increase for any station in Brisbane.

The latest result is another win for ARN’s Classic Hits stations, with the network recently securing the title of official presenting radio station for The Eagles’ farewell tour in November. The Eagles rate highly among ARN’s demographic and are listed as one of the most requested bands on its stations

DMG – NOVA

Sydney – Despite dropping to second – after three consecutive survey wins overall – Nova 969 is delighted the Merrick & Rosso have cracked an 11% share for the fourth time in a row, widening the gap as the leading FM breakfast show.

Nova says it is the leading FM station in Sydney on 10.4%, “… thanks to the 922 000 listeners who let us into their lives each week. We are the leading FM in every shift, with Andy G afternoons the outright leader”

M & R breakfast scored 11.2%; Bianca Dye mornings, 10.7%; Andy G, 12%; Rabbit in drive, 10.6%; and Lizzy and Kip 12.2% for nights.

In the key age groups, Nova is leading outright in key demographics: All under 40 – 21.7%; 18-24 – 31.2%; and 25-39 – 18.2%.

With 2GB stationed in the same building in Pyrmont, Nova says “Merrick & Rosso were last seen sneaking into Alan’s office, searching for the secret to his success!”

Melbourne – Nova 100 breakfast team, Hughesy, Kate and Dave are on holidays, but are said to be delighted to have cracked a 10% audience share, their third consecutive audience increase.

In Survey #4, Nova 100 has also increased its overall share by 0.2% to 9.3% and attracted its largest audience with 939 000 individual listeners.

General Manager, Fiona Cameron, says “All demographics under 40 have increased again and, in the middle of the footy season, that’s a good result for Nova 100.”

Perth – Nova 93.7 says it is up in 18-24s, there has been ‘a nice increase’ in 25-39s (up in 18-34 and 18-39). Very tongue in cheek, Nova has announced that its share of audience over 60 has leapt from 0.0% to 0.2%! “This has come as a bit of a surprise, as it’s our best result so far this year with our beloved nannas, who have described Nova’s Nathan as a ‘strange boy’, but apparently he’ll go far!”

SOUTHERN CROSS BROADCASTING

Brisbane – 4BH has had the largest 10+ share increase for any station in the Brisbane market, jumping from 6.4% to 8.7%.

In its best result since Survey #3, 2002, 4BH has recorded impressive increases across the day, and an 11% share for weekends, placing it #4 in the market.

Breakfast is up 0.7%, mornings +3.3%, afternoons +3%, drive +2.3%, evenings +2%, and weekends +2.5%.

4BH General Manager, David McDonald says: “The station has continued to outperform expectations since being acquired about 12 months ago. Product enhancements, made as a result of research, are clearly being realised and accepted by our Brisbane listeners. In particular, changes to our music format make us one of the more contemporary easy music formats, with broader appeal to Brisbane listeners.”

702 ABC SYDNEY

A strong and consistent result in Survey 4 has placed 702 ABC Sydney second in the talk market in terms of share and third station overall.

The station is also celebrating its increase in reach, with 24,000 more listeners tuning into the station each week (the station is reaching 651,000 people per week).

Breakfast presenter Angela Catterns remains in Number 2 position for share of the Sydney talk radio market, while the station is in number one position Monday to Friday between 4pm and 7pm for the ninth consecutive survey.

The station remains the number one talk station in the 40-54 demographic based on share and moves up to second position overall in this age group. The station is also positioned in second place in the competitive grocery buyers market.

“Survey 4 is a strong and consistent result across the board for 702 and it augurs well for the second half of 2004,” says Station Manager, Roger Summerill.

“We are very pleased with the consistent performance of our station and are delighted that we continue to reach more people than any other talk station in the market.”

FIVEaa ADELAIDE

FIVEaa breakfast with Keith Conlon, Tony Pilkington and Jon Blake is number 1 in the Adelaide market, hitting 19.9% in Survey #4.

The station has recorded its 3rd consecutive ratings rise and the best Survey #4 result since converting to a News/Sport format in 1996. FIVEaa says it also has more listeners than ever, with more than 256 000 people tuning in every week.

The afternoon sports show with KG & Cornesy has consolidated its #1 position, leaping 2.1% to an all time high of 21.5%.

Bob Francis has improved his dominance of
Adelaide’s nighttime audience, recording 26.7% of all people 10+ from 8pm-midnight, while weekends, including comprehensive football coverage, are also #1, rising 1.9% to 18.6%.

FIVEaa General Manager, Paul Bartlett, says “We’re really glad Adelaide listeners are enjoying
the talent, dedication and sheer hard work of the entire team, which has been rewarded with #1 ratings in breakfast, drive, evenings and weekends.”

SEN1116 MELBOURNE

SEN1116’s Managing Director, Danny Staffieri, has described the Survey #4 result as a consolidating position for the station. SEN1116 registered 2.8% in all people 10+ (down 0.2%).

“Despite the small decrease, we are pleased that in our key target demographic – males 25-54 and, more specifically, males 25-39, our audience share has increased considerably. We are taking small steps, but they are very much in the right direction.

“It has been a monumental effort to create a new radio station, which carries a pioneering format. We have successfully assembled a great team, which is working together extremely well.

“Our product has made an impact in Melbourne. It is clear we are gaining new listeners each day. All the key indicators tell us we have a very good product that will continue to grow.”

Morning Glory has dropped 0.5% to 3.7%; Hungry for Sport is on 3.2% (-0.2%); Afternoons with Francis Leach is up 0.3% (to 3.3%); The Run Home, up 0.2% to 3.4%; and The Night Watchmen have remained on 1.9%. The SEN 1116 cume has come in at 215 000.