The 5th survey result for 2012 has been released, with the newest station, Smooth FM, showing gains in both Melbourne and Sydney in its first full survey.
In Sydney 2GB has increased its lead, 2UE dropped and Smooth increased. In Melbourne Magic and Triple M dropped. Triple M up and Nova down in Brisbane, and strong gains for Mix and SAFM in Adelaide.
The survey was conducted for Commercial Radio Australia between Sun May 6 ? Sat Jun 9 and Sun Jun 24 ? Sat Jul 28.
Click here to see the full results.
The Networks
The day has gone to dmg. It seems that the investment is paying off with a strong result for smoothfm as it rose by 0.8 in Sydney and 0.5 in Melbourne, approaching 5.0 overall in both cities. Not so great results for the Novas though. They went up in Melbourne, despite a dip in breakfast. But down in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide with Perth remaining steay.
Over in the SCA camp, Sydney remains “interesting” for them. Flagship 2Day dipped to under a 9 share, but Kyle and Jackie O consolidated their FM lead with a slight gain while main rivals Jonesy and Amanda on WS-FM slipped back a bit. Meanwhile Fox in Melbourne stayed steady as did Brisbane – which only went up 0.2 but went into the psychological realm of double digits. Meanwhile SAFM had a blinder with a 1.8 gain on the back of a strong result, just as they’ve announced to breakup of their breakfast team.
Going back up the charts, Triple M also had a modest gain in Adelaide. Up a massive 1.5 in Brisbane but lost 1.3 in Melbourne while it posted a slight gain in Sydney.
In Perth, it seems Dobbo won’t have to dress up as a woman as he promised he’d do last time if 96fm was still on top, as Mix 94.5fm has stormed back into the number one spot while 92.9 has shot up too to take number two relegating last survey’s hero, 96FM to number three.
For ARN it was, as most often is the case, a mixed bag. Both the Classic Hits and the MIX streams went backwards in Sydney. Both went up in Melbourne and both went down in Brisbane. In Adelaide, MIX 102.3 had a blinder, up 2.0 while cruise slipped back 0.9.
For Fairfax, it was a case of hooray for 3AW which increased its dominance of the Melbourne market, posting a 15.0 share overall, almost 4.0 ahead of nearest rival ABC 774 and almost 5.0 ahead of the number one FM, Fox. But alas, 2UE’s woes in Sydney continue – the station went down a whole 1.0 to 5.3 while it’s breakfast show is on 4.4. 4BC’s result in Brisbane fared not much better, down 0.9 to a 6.5 share. At least 6PR did better in Perth while 96fm slipped back two places from number one.
It’s days like this that the some people at the ABC probably wish they could sell ads. Fairfax would certainly envy their audience shares. Local Radio went up in Sydney and Melbourne where it holds a solid number two in both cities. It went up in Brisbane and Perth too. Adelaide was the only market it went down.
Meanwhile triple j was up in the three eastern seaboard cities and down in Adelaide and Perth.
We’ll bring you the views of dmg’s Paul Jackson, ARN’s Duncan Campbell and SCA’s Craig Bruce, exclusively on radioinfo, shortly.
Sydney
In Sydney, market leader 2GB increased its lead slightly, as did second placed ABC702. Third placed 2Day and fourth placed WS FM both dropped slightly, but retained their positions in the overall rankings. 2UE lost one full share point and Smooth, in its first full survey, gained 0.7. 2CH rose for the third survey in a row, gaining 0.3 and Triple M was also up.
2GB’s Alan Jones won breakfast, ahead of ABC702’s Adam Spencer and 2Day’s Kyle and Jackie. All the leading breakfast shows were steady or slightly up. ABC702’s Richard Glover won drive, while all other shifts were won by 2GB.
2Day and Nova lead the 10-39 demographics, with triple j also strong in the 18-39 age groups. WS FM won the 40-54 demographic, and 2GB won the over 55s.
Melbourne
In Melbourne, 3AW remains firmly in top spot, with a slight gain bringing it to 15% overall. Second placed ABC774 also gained slightly, while Fox slipped a fraction but retained third position. Triple M fell by 1.3 share points, losing fourth position to Nova, which gained 0.6 share points. Perhaps feeling the effects of Smooth and 3MP (which is not rated but has changed back to a music format), Magic dropped by one share point.
3AW’s Ross and John had a huge survey, gaining 2 share points in the breakfast timeslot to consolidate their lead further. They are followed in breakfast by ABC774’s Red Simons and Fox FM’s Matt and Jo. 3AW won all other shifts in the market.
Fox and Nova lead the 10-24 demographics, Fox won 25-39s just ahead of Triple M and Nova. The 40-54 demographic was won by Gold FM and 3AW won the over 55 age groups.
Brisbane
Nova retained top position in Brisbane, despite a drop of 1.7 share points, with second placed 97.3 also slipping this survey. Triple M moved into third place after a strong 1.5 share point gain, followed by ABC612, which gained one share point. B105 is in fifth place with a slight gain of 0.2 share points.
ABC612’s Spencer Howson won the breakfast timeslot ahead of Nova, Triple M and 97.3. In a very egalitarian spread of shift winners, Triple M won Mornings and Afternoons, Nova won Drive, B105 won Evenings and 97.3 won Weekends.
B105 won 10-17s, Nova won the 18-39 age groups, Triple M won 40-54s, and ABC612 won the over 55s.
Adelaide
5AA consolidated its top position in the Adelaide market with a gain of 0.5 share points, with Mix 102.3 snapping at its heals after a strong jump of 2 share points, moving it into second place on 14.2%. SAFM also gained strongly, moving into third place after a jump of 1.8 share points. Nova slipped a little and moved back into fourth place and ABC891 also dropped, sliding back into fifth place in the market.
5AA’s Conlon, Keneally, Doyle and McDermott won breakfast ahead of ABC891’s Matthew Abraham and David Bevan. Mix won Mornings and Afternoons. 5AA won Drive, Evenings and Afternoons.
Nova won 10-39s ahead of SAFM, Mix won 40-54s, and 5AA won the over 55 age groups.
Perth
Mix 94.5 shot into first position in Perth with a gain of 1.8 share points taking it to 15%. Austereo stablemate 92.9 also gained, rising 1.1 share points and moving into second place. 96fm dropped 1.8 share points, moving from first to third place. ABC720 is placed fourth after a slight gain and Nova is steady in fifth place. Sixth placed 6PR had a strong gain of 1.3 share points, moving it to 10.2%.
ABC720’s Eoin Cameron won breakfast ahead of Mix 94.5’s Bunch. Mix won the at work listening timeslots Morning, Afternoons and Drive. ABC720 won evenings and Mix won weekends.
92.9 won the 10-24s ahead of Nova. 25-39s were won by Nova. Mix won 40-54s and ABC720 won the over 55 age groups.
For news from the stations themselves, see Spin Cycle.