Survey 8 Analysis: Networks and Cities

Outgoing Nova Brisbane manager Sean Ryan would be happy with the results of today’s survey.

Nova 106.9 gained top position in Brisbane after knocking off 97.3. In Sydney, ABC 702 gained while 2Day dropped. Not much movement in Melbourne, but Fox did regain number one FM position from Nova with a slight gain. Mix gained in Adelaide and 5AA dropped. In Perth 96fm dropped most while triple j gained most.

See the raw results here. Our analysis by networks and cities is below and Spin Cycle is here.

 

Networks

Southern Cross Austereo

One could suggest that this survey is a bit of a dead rubber for the Today Network, as it is for many stations, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne where major changes in Breakfast and Drive will be introduced next year. But the Triple M side of things is relatively stable with all its major stars returning in 2014 with some bold new signings like Matt Tilley and Joe Hildebrand.

And so it was for the M’s. With the exception of Brisbane where it lost a point the Triple M brnad held steady or eased forward. The bleeding from daytime shifts in Sydney last time seems to have been stemmed while in Melbourne the Hot Breakfast with Eddie McGuire and Mick Molloy has shot number one FM with a 9.3 share making it well placed to be the dominant force next year with all the upheaval at Fox and Nova.

On the Today Network there was no dead-cat bounce for Kyle and Jackie O who were expected to put in a blinder as loyal fans bade them farewell. 2Day dropped 1.1. Fox did better with a 0.5 gain and a similar rise for breakfast where Matt & Jo did enjoy an audience surge for the final weeks.

Brisbane was not a happy hunting ground for SCA with both stations losing ground. While Adelaide was steady with SAFM experiencing a slight dip.

In Perth it was a case of one up, Mix 94.5 and one down, 92.9.

Australian Radio Network

ARN have lost nothing and have everything to gain next year with its signing of Kyle and Jackie O in Sydney while Brig and Lehmo have a GOLDen opportunity to capitalise on the departure of Matt & Jo from FOX and Hughesy & Kate from Nova in Melbourne.

For this reason ARN would not give a tinkers that MIX 106.5 slumped to a 5.0 share on the back of a breakfast show that returned a 3.3. In fact, they’d be laughing because in Rosso in Drive, who will be there next year managed to buck the trend with a slight gain.

They’d be less pleased with the MIX result in Melbourne with a 0.4 share drop overall. But with Chrissie and Jane going up 0.2 in breakfast there won’t be much complaining.

Meanwhile WSFM showed a slight improvement in Sydney while GOLD slid back.

In Adelaide both ARN stations put in big performances with MIX 102.3 powering ahead on a 15.6 share and AM station Cruise1323 jumping 1.0 as well.

DMG

Santa has answered its competitors wishes and brought smoothfm in Sydney back to the field somewhat but perhaps not as much as they would have liked. The station shed 1.0 to leave it on a 6.5 share which is still a fabulous result for the brand whose Melbourne iteration eased upwards by 0.1.

The Nova Network remained relatively steady, albeit with slight dips everywhere, except in Brisbane where it powered past 97.3 to take out the coveted number one spot with a 13.6 share.

These results will mean Nova can still boast being the number one under 40s network in Australia.

Fairfax and MRN

A raft of program changes are mooted for 2UE next year and they’ll need them to work as the station sank to a 4.2 share and 3.4 in Breakfast. Meanwhile, their nemesis 2GB put on 1.2 to lead the Sydney market on a 13.3 share, more than four times the audience of UE.

As is usually the case, the news improves dramatically for Fairfax once we travel to Melbourne where 3AW is eating everyone else’s lunch with an even bigger audience than 2GB. The old established firms of Ross and John in Breakfast and Neil Mitchell in mornings still know how to woo listeners with both shows registering big gains. The only shift on the entire station to go backwards was Drive.

Alas, in Brisbane 4BC continues its downward trend, dipping under 5.0 share points.

The Fairfax music stations provided mixed results with Melbourne’s Magic gaining 0.2 while Brisbane’s 4BH (soon to be Magic too) eased 0.2. Meanwhile back at the ranch in the West, Perth’s took a 1.0 tumble to come in at number three.

ABC

triple j

Summer is the season of triple J and the network has once again put in a solid performance with big gains in Sydney,  Brisbane and Perth – the latter two returning double figures in their respective markets. Adelaide was off just 0.2 while Melbourne (triple j’s least successful market) held steady.

ABC Local

A strange one for the local brand with a huge result in Sydney with ABC702 jumping 2.0 on the back of Adam Spencer’s imminent departure which waxed 2.6 onto his breakfast show. But in Melbourne, where no one is leaving, 774 shed 0.6 to remain in second place as the only station apart from 3AW in double figures.

Meanwhile, Brisbane 612 put on 0.3. Adelaide 891 lost 0.2 and Perth 720 dropped 0.5.

 

Cities

Click the charts to see full results.

Sydney
 
ABC702 gained 2 share points this survey as it capitalised on farewell events for Adam Spencer and the success of the Aussies in the cricket. ABC702 jumped back to second place on 10.4%, with a big increase in breakfast and gains in all shifts.
 
Market leader 2GB consolidated its lead, gaining 1.2 share points to 13.3% and increasing in all shifts.
 
2Day dropped 1.1 share points overall on news of Kyle and Jackie’s departure. While the K&J news did not dominate the whole survey, 2Day was not able to capitalise on ‘farewell’ publicity, seeing the breakfast shift fall by 1.2 share points.
 

Melbourne
 
Fox did capitalise on Matt and Jo’s farewell publicity in Melbourne, with Fox gaining 0.5 share points to 8.6% overall. Fox breakfast was up 0.5 and most other shifts also gained.
 
Nova 100 was not so lucky with its farewell to Hughesy and Kate, dropping slightly, down 0.4 to 8.2% overall. Nova breakfast lost 0.6 share points.
 
Market leader 3AW increased its lead with a rise of 0.6 taking it to 13.8%, ahead of second placed ABC774, which dipped 0.6 to 10.8%.

In the breakfast timeslot, the instability at Nova and Fox helped Triple M’s Hot Breakfast to gain the FM breakfast lead, behind AM stations 3AW and ABC774.

 

Brisbane
 
Nova 106.9 knocked off 97.3 for the top position in Brisbane. Nova gained 1.1 share points to 13.6%, while second placed 97.3FM dropped 1.2 to 12.0%.  Triple M dropped 1.0 to 8.0% and triple j gained 0.8 to 10.5%.
 
ABC612 is in third place at 10.9%, up 0.3, triple j is fourth on 10.5%, up 0.8, and B105 is in fifth place with 9.8%, down 0.2.
 
The 10-17 demographic was won by B105, Nova won 18-39s, 97.3 won 40-54s, 4KQ won 55-64s and ABC612 won the over 65s.

 

Adelaide

Top station Mix 102.3 consolidated its position, gaining 1.1 share points to 15.8%. Cruise also gained well, up 1.0 to 8.6%. 5AA dropped most, losing 1.2 share points to fourth place on 10.5%.
 
Second placed ABC891 slipped 0.2 to 12.3% and third placed Nova 91.9 dropped 0.3 share points to 11.1%.
 
ABC891 leads the breakfast timeslot, followed by 5AA and Mix. With Keith Conlon leaving 5AA breakfast, that shift slipped a little this survey.
 

 
Perth

96fm dropped most this survey, losing 1.0 to 10.5%. triple j had a resurgence, gaining 1.4 share points to 10.4%. Most other stations were steady.
 
First placed Mix 94.5 gained 0.6 to 14.1%, followed by Nova 93.7, which was down 0.1 to 12.3%.
 
The next three stations are tightly packed together this survey, with third placed 96fm on 10.5%, followed closely by triple j on 10.4% then ABC720 on 10.3%.
 
Breakfast was won by ABC720 ahead of Mix and Nova.
 
 

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