Ugly Phil O’Neil scored number one in mornings, there was a strong showing from Jonesy and Amanada in breakfast, Steve Fitton won drive and the station was number one in the Sydney market overall.

Survey 7 was a cracker for ARN’s Sydney station WSFM.

Phil O’Neil described himself as the ‘court jester’ of the station and played down his morning timeslot win when radioinfo caught up with him this week.

“In the true tradition of Stephen Bradbury,  everyone else fell over and I got to the finishing line first,” he said flippantly.

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But success is not really that easy.

WS has been consistently in the top four FM stations this year, improving its format and just waiting for some movement in the market. It has been a tight battle, particularly between Smooth and WS, who have traded places a few times this year. The icing on the cake this survey was the fact that 2GB had been dropping down from its top position since survey 4, leaving the ground open for a new leader. KIIS grabbed the top position last survey and passed the baton to ARN teammate WSFM as it sprinted to the top this survey.

Ugly Phil’s success in winning mornings is his consistency, according to Content Director Mike Byrne.

Byrne, an experienced radio program strategist, puts the station’s win down to successfully reading the mood of the Sydney audience.

“It’s been a rough year in Sydney. There’s a lot of agro going on worldwide. We had the US election over the last couple of months… it provided a lot of entertainment value, but it was an aggressive kind of thing.

“Also, I think people have an attitude at the moment of, I’ve got enough going on in my own world. I’m stressed about the terrible traffic on the M7, the fact that a block of Tooheys New cans is now $65… the cost of living, mortgages, rents, the rental crisis. All that stuff has really bitten in Sydney more than it has anywhere else.

“The FM music stations have benefited from that because we’re a relief from all that. We play great music, we’ve got a fun breakfast show, we tell you the information you need to know. We don’t hector you, we don’t stress you, we’re not aggressive.”

“I just think there’s a general sense of, I’ve got a stressful enough life, I don’t need to get any angrier by listening to angry people.”

Byrne credits all his team for the station’s success, particularly recognising Phil O’Neil for his contribution to the station and for taking the number one morning slot this survey. Drive was also number one this survey.

“Ugly Phil taking the mantle from Ray Hadley for the first time in 20 years was just fantastic for Phil. He’s a radio veteran and just works really hard on his craft every single day.”

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Byrne says the team has spent 12 months crafting the product with a really clear strategy in mind, “to bring relief” to a stressed city. “To be a fun radio station… If you tune into WS at any time, you’re going to hear fun, some fun imaging, you’re going to hear an up-tempo, upbeat song that you probably know.”

WSFM has evolved its classic hits music playlist, which used to focus on the 1970s and 80s. With the station’s listeners aging out of the target 35-54 demographic, WSFM, and other Classic Hits formats around the country are looking to refresh the playlist for the younger end of the demographic as they age into their 30s, while keeping as many listeners on the other end of the demographic, as they move out of the target range.

Songs from the 1970s are now over 40 and approaching 50 years old, while the songs from 20 years ago are now part of the formative years of a 35 year old as they move into the WSFM target demographic.

“We need to evolve. We’ve introduced more and more 2000s songs recently. We’re still a radio station that plays classic hits from the 80s, so  you’re still going to hear Madonna, you’re going to hear U2, you’re going to hear all of those. That’s still the centre of the radio station. But we’re also hearing more of that newer music and less of the 70s music.

“The evolution of the format has probably sped up a little bit in the last six months, I think that’s helped us as well, it’s moved us a bit further away from where Smooth was. Probably 12 months ago, the two formats were pretty similar, so we’ve shifted a little bit, which I think has created a bit of space for us.”

Byrne acknowledges smooth fm as a strong competitor and expects more competition from smooth in 2025. In the competitive Sydney market Byrne also sees 2UE’s Gold music format as trying to pick up the older end of the WSFM demographic, as they age beyond 54 years.

“2UE is sitting in the old 2CH position. In other markets, 4BH in Brisbane, 3MP Melbourne, Cruise in Adelaide, there’s still a good audience for over 50s. I think DAB has helped, you can hear all that great stuff on DAB Plus in clear stereo.”

Byrne is pleased that WSFM in Sydney and Gold in Melbourne have increased their Agency sales as Media Agencies recognise the demographic shifts in the population. WSFM has always been a strong direct sales station, but it is now also claiming more Agency revenue as well.

It is the first time WSFM has been number one overall in the Sydney market. In 1984 2WS came equal first with 2UE in one survey (there were 4 surveys a year back then), and in 1993, when 2WS switched to WSFM, it came very close to the top, but it has never been outright number one, according to Byrne.

The station also recently moved to new premises in North Sydney, giving it a chance to undergo a facelift, improve the equipment, and take advantage of new branding and cameras for streaming, podcasting and social media.

It also has a great view, as demonstrated by Mike Byrne.

WSFM turned 46 years old last weekend (see related report). The survey 7 win was “a history-making moment … a nice birthday present for the old girl,” says Byrne.

About the author:

Steve Ahern is the founding editor of radioinfo and the CEO of AMT Pty Ltd, which publishes a range of radio, podcasting and audio technology trade journals in Australia and internationally.