This has been a quieter week in radio land which usually means that a survey is just around the corner. You can almost feel the collective holding of breaths.
The first of 2025, GfK Radio 360 Survey 1, is indeed out next Thursday March 27 at 9:30am. It is the only stand alone one of the year, measured from Sunday January 19 to Saturday March 1. Sunday Feb 9 to Saturday March 1 is included in Survey 2.
It has taken me a while to publicly embrace my radio survey nerdiness. If you’ve been reading Radioinfo and Radio Today a while you’ll know that I have an equally abiding passion for popular and charting music trivia and stats. However, since I have tested the waters of conversations with party starters like ‘the percentage of audiences 10+ who listen to Kyle and Jackie O in Sydney and Melbourne….” I’ve found a surprising amount of more than tolerant listeners.
Our reader data backs that up too. The last two years, across Radioinfo and Radio Today, at least two of the top 10 most read was a survey result with perhaps another two or three independent stories directly related to them. You come to us to help you unpack them and their meaning, or potential ramifications.
The very nature of a radio survey is unlike any other media measurement tool in Australia. Not only are 10–17-year-olds included, which is so important for the future of the broadcast industry, but in a one-hour period a person can technically consume four different stations, all of which are able to be included.
If you think that measuring in 15 minutes blocks is pointless, let’s say you have a Sydney mum who drops the kids to school, then journeys on through peak hour into the city. It is likely an hour from the time they leave the house before they step into the office. With the kids maybe they’re listening to Jonesy and Amanda on Gold 101.7, as there’s a daily comp that they all play along with in the car. Once the kids are gone maybe they turn to Radio National and Sally Sara to focus on what’s making news. After, they check out what Kyle and Jackie O are up to on KIIS 1065, or Jimmy, Nath and Emma on 2Day FM, with the little ears gone. Or they simply surf for a good song.
When they get to work, and I found this in so many places during a recent stay in Sydney, smooth 95.3 is on the speakers for the rest of the day till they head home.
There is a whole personal dynamic happening there that the industry wants to identify, advertisers want to speak to and, with a Federal election coming up, politicians want to target.
This data matters. You also see why Jonesy and Amanda have an impressive under 18 audience, why smooth does so well across the day and why Kyle and Jackie O have long ruled cumulative listening (before their launch into Melbourne).
Australia’s peak industry body for commercial radio broadcasters, Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) had new leadership last year with CEO Lizzie Young, and now have undertaken a facelift of their website which I and many of our readers have been monitoring waiting for the Xtra Insights survey dates.
Xtra Insights measures regional markets like the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, the Central Coast of NSW and more remote regions like Mandurah in Western Australia, which is incidentally the first for 2025, out next Tuesday the 25th of March at 2pm AEDT.
In late 2023 and 2024 Xtra Insights expanded to include more areas like Deniliquin, Wangaratta and Campbelltown. The latter’s results showed Kyle and Jackie O’s dominance of the Western Sydney outskirts. Campbelltown is not included in GfK.
With the CRA revamp, only 12 months of previous GfK surveys will now be included. A spokesperson for CRA said:
“Before we relaunched the website a month ago, we found the historical ratings data was amongst the least trafficked pages. Agencies and member radio stations have access, via GfK systems, and most media simply come directly to the CRA comms team when they need historical data analysis. We regularly provide these analyses when asked. Radio is one of the most trusted and transparent mediums and remains committed to being so.”
You can of course utilise Radioinfo and Radio Today as your resource for analysis and details of metro, provincial and regional surveys past and present too.
Survey measurement is a time consuming, number crunching investment by GfK and Xtra Insights, which also requires an unpaid commitment from regular Australians who are invited to be involved. I agree with the trusted and transparent, and long may they continue to reflect the audio that surrounds us as we live our lives.
With this being a quieter week I spent last night updating the details ahead of our various charts we give you on survey day which show the trends of listening in the five metros and their breakfast shows over the last two and a half years. Survey 8 2024 is below as an example.
Syd:
Melb:
Bris:
Adelaide:
Perth:
These charts show what radio network management will generally say after a not so good survey. A big drop is usually the result of major change to staff or brand. Most of what happens is incremental with the above showing long term trends, one of which worth highlighting is the growth of the ACE Radio Network’s 4BH in Brisbane and BBQ Bob Gallagher on breakfast. Over the three years since ACE took over the station 4BH has slowly moved up the ranks to a point where they now can be talked about among the major players like B105 and 104.5 Triple M in the city.
For Survey 1, 2025 I had to change more breakfast details than ever before. Perth and Adelaide were fairly stable. Adelaide’s Mix 102.3 and SAFM had changed their breakfast shows in time for Survey 8 last year and John Dean on Cruise 1323 worked all of this survey period before his departure on March 7. That station currently has no permanent lineup up at all but the reason for that probably won’t be known till Survey 1 is out of the way.
Allowing that Sally Sara on ABC Radio National breakfast replaced Patricia Karvelas in each of the metro cities, Brisbane and Sydney had four other lineup changes and Melbourne had five!
In Sydney there was also the change of WSFM to become Gold 101.7, Nova 96.9‘s Kate Ritchie has been on personal leave since February 3 and Tarsh Belling will not be a full part of Survey 2 for 104.9 Triple M. I’ve wondered already if Beau Ryan and Aaron Woods will remain there too?
If you’ve made it this far I am assuming you will also be eagerly refreshing the Radioinfo and Radio Today pages next Thursday morning March 27 at 9:30am for Survey 1. We will also have a special post survey podcast out that day as well. There will be a lot of unpacking to do.
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster. You can email [email protected]
Main picture clockwise from top left – Kyle and Jackie O from Sydney’s KIIS 1065 and KIIS 101.1 Melbourne breakfast, new breakfast host of ABC Radio National Sally Sara, Nova 96.9’s Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie, Natarsha Belling, Cathy Jubb the new host of Sydney 2UE breakfast, 2Day FM’s new breakfast team Jimmy and Nath with Emma Chow, John Dean who recently departed Cruise 1323 breakfast in Adelaide, Peter Fegan who permanently took over Brisbane’s 4BC breakfast this year and centre Nova 100‘s Jase and Lauren with newsreader Clint Stanaway.