Since the last Xtra Insights survey of Wollongong eighteen months ago little has changed. Local stations i98 FM, Wave FM and ABC Illawarra are still first, second and third respectively but all with overall audience decreases.
Win Radio’s i98 had a 2.2 drop for all audiences 10+, but still held a quarter of the listening audience with 26.0. ARN’s Wave FM only saw a small drop of 0.4 to 17.2, with good gains in the afternoon and drive. ABC Illawarra was down 1.9 to 12.7 with triple j nipping at their heels and up 0.2 in fourth to 11.2. i98’s Marty, Christian and Bella were similarly ahead in breakfast, down 1.2 to 26.0.
i98FM’s Station Manager Tia Davis said:
“This was such a team effort and at i98, we are so proud of what we have achieved. Our staff are passionate and committed to producing the best on and off-air product for our audience, so today’s result is a humbling reminder of why we do what we do. Thank you to the Illawarra Community for your continued support.”
Unlike the recent Xtra Insights survey of Campbelltown which has KIIS1065 out in front, the Sydney stations KIIS, WSFM, 2GB and smooth had a much smaller share of audience (around 3-5 points each) but all did grow in size, around 3 points in total, showing the reach of Sydney shows are impacting the nearby regional markets.
Power FM (down 0.2 to 1.0) were part of this survey, presumably Power 94.9 Nowra, the nearest to the Illawarra. It is also worth mentioning that SCA doesn’t have a local Wollongong radio station with 2Day FM and Triple M Sydney both down in this survey, to 0.4 and 2.1 respectively.
Generally stations that are for one market may not mean success in another market.
For the Illawarra market, Sydney and Nowra stations do not rate as well as the local Illawarra market.
In contrast, Sydney station KIIS 106.5 (formerly Mix 106.5, formerly 2UW) is the highest rating station in the Campbelltown market outrating C91.3.
https://radioinfo.com.au/news/kiis1065-on-top-in-campbelltown-strong-result-for-local-c91-3-xtra-insights/
I cannot comment on the reception quality of the Sydney stations in the Illawarra market, but it does indicate that (i) stations outside the market area can outrate the local area and (ii) stations that do rate ate meeting a market need.
However caution if a station is going to be networked from one market area, for example Sydney may not meet the market needs of another market.
That's even if localism is removed from a program for example Sydney weather and traffic reports broadcast in Cairns.
There may be exceptions such as a truck stuck at Galston Gorge or the Harbour Tunnel. Opinions and comments about that may well be amusing.
Thank you
Anthony, Strathfield South, in the land of the Wangal and Darug Peoples of the Eora Nation