Survey 8 results: Vega improves, Mix 102.3 increases lead, 6PR and Nova937 dip

The results of the eighth, and last, Nielsen Media Research ratings survey for 2006 have been released. Vega has shown improvements while 2GB and 3AW retain their top positions in Sydney and Melbourne. Mix is down in Sydney; Gold down in Melbourne; ABC774 has dropped. In Brisbane ABC612 had the biggest gain while B105 and various AM stations dropped. Adelaide’s Mix 102.3 increased its lead with a strong increase and Perth’s Mix 94.5 increased its market lead.

The survey was conducted for Commercial Radio Australia between Sun September 17 – Sat November 25, 2006.

Click Nielsen Ratings section to view the share tables or click below for the demographics and shift figures.

HIGHLIGHTS

Sydney

Mix 106.5 had the biggest fall this survey, dropping 1.4 share points to 5.9%, while ARN sister station WSFM had the biggest rise, up 1.6 share points to 8.4%. Vega gained 0.8 share points to 2.8%, finally beating two of the ABC’s national networks, but still behind triple j.

2GB was top with 11.5%, slipping only fractionally by 0.1; second placed 2Day dropped 0.5 to 10.6%, giving 2GB a clear lead in the market again. ABC702 gained 0.6 to secure third place with 9.9%.

There was a lot of volatility in the breakfast time slot in Sydney this survey: WS, ABC702 and 2CH all gained strongly; Mix dropped most, and Triple M, Nova, 2GB, NewsRadio and 2UE all slipped a little in their breakfast shifts.

2Day won 10-17s, Nova won 18-24s, 25-39s were won by 2Day, WSFM won 40-54s and 2GB won 55+.

Melbourne

ARN’s Gold FM and ABC774 dropped most this survey, both down 1.3 share points with Gold scoring 9.7% and ABC774 on 9.6%. Vega improved by 0.2 to finally crack 3.0%, putting it ahead of all the ABC’s national networks in the Melbourne market.

3AW remained on top, down 0.5 share points to 14.8%. Second placed Fox was up 0.2 to 13.2%. ABC774 and Gold were equal third place with 9.6%.

Fox won 10-17s, Nova won 18-24s, 25-39s were won by Fox, GOLD won 40-54s and 3AW won 55+. Gold and ABC774 had the biggest drops at breakfast, 3AW mornings fell significantly.

Brisbane

AM stations 4BC and 4KQ both fell this survey, 4BC down 2 share points to 6.3% and 4KQ down 1.9 to 6.7%. B105 also dropped, down 1.2 to 8.0%. The biggest gain this survey was ABC612, which increased by 1.8 share points to 11.8%.

First placed Nova scored 14.4%, up 0.1; second placed Triple M was up 0.9 to 13%.

Nova won all under 40 demographics, Triple M won 40-54s and ABC612 won 55+.

Adelaide

Talk stations 5AA and ABC891 both dipped this survey, 5AA down 1.2 share points to 14.9% and ABC891 down 1.1 to 10.4%. Mix 102.3 had the biggest increase, up 2.2 share points to consolidate its top position at 17.0%.

5AA was in second place, followed by SAFM, down 0.3 TO 12.5%, then Nova on 11.8%, down 0.4 share points.

SAFM won 10-17s, Nova won 18-24s, 25-39s were won by SAFM, Mix won 40-54s and 5AA won 55+. Nova breakfast fell significantly this survey on news of changes to the lineup.

Perth

Nova 93.7 dropped 1.3 share points to 11.3% and 6PR dropped 1.1 to 9.1%. The biggest increase this survey went to 96fm, which was up 1.0 share points to 12.6%.

Market leader Mix 94.5 increased slightly, up 0.1 to 17.5%, followed by 96fm and Nova, then ABC720 on 10.6% (down 0.2) and 92.9 on 10.5% (up 0.1).

92.9 won 10-17s, Nova won 18-24s, 25-39s were won by 96fm, Mix won 40-54s and ABC720 won 55+.

COMMENTS

Vega

Melbourne vega 91.5fm has recorded three increases in a row securing a 3.0% share overall according to the eighth Nielsen Media Research survey released today.

Good things continue in threes with vega 91.5fm showing growth in key areas:

Dave and Denise with Shaun Micallef increasing from 2.1% to 2.6%; Drive with Wilbur Wilde went from 2.8% to 3.3%; 40-54 year olds – up from a 4.6% to 5.1%.

Sam Thompson, vega 91.5fm General Manager said, “Three increases in a row is a healthy sign listeners are discovering vega 91.5fm and liking what they hear. Finding vega 91.5fm on the dial and listeners getting to know us continues to be our focus leading into 2007”.

Sydney vega 95.3fm continued its growth trend in the final AC Nielson Survey for the year with a 2.8% share overall (up from 2.0%). vega 95.3fm also achieved an increase of 38,000 new Sydneysiders, taking its total listeners to 307,000 per week.

Today’s results also confirm more people are listening to vega 95.3fm for longer. On average, vega 95.3 fm listeners are tuning in for 6hrs and 12 mins per week (up by 72 mins per week).

In vega 95.3fm’s key demographic of 40-54, the station increased from 3.4% to 4.8%. The vega 95.3fm line up also performed strongly:

Breakfast with Ange, Tony and Bec 2.0% (up 0.2); Mornings with Jason Staveley 3.0% (up 1.0) ; Afternoons with Jen Oldershaw 3.6% (up 1.6); Drive with Nathan Hardy 3.6% (up 1.4) ; vega variety in the Evenings 2.1% (up 0.6) ; Weekends 2.5% (up 0.3).

In Melbourne, vega 91.5fm has also continued its upwards trend, achieving an overall increase to 3.0% (up from 2.8%).

“It’s really encouraging to know more Sydneysiders are now tuning in to vega 95.3fm and when they find us, they’re listening for longer” General Manager vega 95.3fm, Mandi Wicks said.

“Our unique vega variety music position blends past favourites with new music and listeners have been telling us they love it! We’re focused on improving and working towards building on this result in 2007”.

Nova

In the final Nielsen Media Research survey for 2006 released today, every DMG station across the eastern seaboard increased in overall audience share with strong performances in particular, from Nova and vega stations in Sydney and Melbourne.

The national Nova network ended the year strongly with No. 1 results for All People 18-39 and for All People Under 40.

Nova 969 in Sydney had an outstanding survey increasing in overall share from 7.4% to 8.2%. Nova in Sydney also increased in all key demographics Under 40. Nova 100 in Melbourne performed strongly increasing share from 8.2% to 8.7% overall and also significantly increased its audience Under 40.

Nova 106.9 Brisbane maintained the No. 1 position in Brisbane for the 6th consecutive time increasing share to 14.4% overall. The station produced another No. 1 result for the breakfast shift with Kip, Meshel, Ash & Luttsy with a share overall 13.4%* Nova 106.9 Brisbane continued to lead in the key demographics of 10-17, 18-24 and 25-39.

Nova 919 in Adelaide achieved an 11.8% share overall and achieved the No. 1 position for All People Under 40 in Adelaide with a 25.4% share of that demographic. Nova 919 also achieved the No. 1 position for 18-24 year olds in the market.

DMG’s talk station FIVEaa achieved an overall share of 14.9% in the survey and maintained the No. 1 position in the breakfast shift with Keith Conlon, Tony Pilkington, Jon Blake, Jane Doyle & Chris McDermott for the 16th consecutive time with a share of 18.4% overall. The drive time show with KG & Cornesy also achieved the No. 1 position with 17.5%.

Nova 937 in Perth achieved an overall share of 11.3% and maintained No. 1 position for All People Under 40 in Perth. The station also maintained its leadership in the key demographics of 18-24 and 18-39 in the market. The Nova breakfast team of Nathan & Nat also ended the year with a 12.4% share and remained the No 2 FM breakfast show in Perth.

vega now reaches a total of 601,000 listeners across Sydney and Melbourne with the stations now displaying consistent growth as a result of their repositioning earlier this year. The Nova network has a national footprint of 2,540,000 listeners across Australia.

882 4BH

882 4BH continued its growth in its core demographic in the latest Nielsen Media Radio Survey 8/06 released today. 882 4BH recorded a 14.6% commercial share All People 40+ Monday to Sunday.

In other significant results today Kim Mothershaw and Loretta Ryan enjoyed another Breakfast rise beating long time arch rival 4KQ. This also now places them ahead of B105 in Breakfast.

In the heavily contested Breakfast market, Kim & Loretta are now enjoying their highest ratings ever after a year of consistent growth, with an 8.1% share.

Overall 882 4BH recorded an 8.8% All People 10+ share Monday to Sunday.

882 4BH starts the day with Kim Mothershaw & Loretta Ryan and plays nothing but The Best Songs of All Time and focuses on the lifestyle and information needs of the Brisbane 40+ audience.

Austereo

Austereo’s 2Day FM in Sydney and Fox FM in Melbourne have won the FM ratings for 2006 with another dominant result in the final Nielsen radio ratings of the year.

2Day FM finished with an average 11.3 per cent audience share for the year, a 1.3 point increase on 2005, while Fox FM ended with an average 12.4 per cent share, up 1.6 points on last year.

Austereo chief executive officer Michael Anderson said: “We’ve had a very defined strategy which we stuck with all year.

“We’ve built success throughout the year, introducing new shows, but also innovative promotions and strong, consistent marketing, but we’ve also been consistent in our execution.

“The success of the stations has been underpinned by the two dominant FM breakfast shows in their markets, the Kyle and Jackie O Show in Sydney and Matt and Jo in Melbourne.

“Together with Hamish and Andy in drive – the standout new talents of the year – the two stations have jumped out of the pack to be the clear winners in the FM ratings.”

Mr Anderson said out of the other Today network stations, Adelaide’s SAFM had posted solid results all year in a highly competitive market, while Brisbane’s B105 and Perth’s 92.9 had trended up in the ratings after a challenging start to the year.

“The incredible confidence that Sydney and Melbourne are showing in their strategy is flowing through to the entire Today network. They have led the way and the other Today stations have drawn energy from that success.”

Mr Anderson said 2006 had seen Austereo consolidate its strategy of having two differentiated networks that are complementary, rather than competitive.

“It’s been an important year because not only has the Today network succeeded, but the Triple M network has also had just as consistent a year,” he said.

“Triple M has such an innovative format with its show-based lineup, and is quite different from the rest of the market.

“And we’ve seen that success – The Cage at breakfast has been as high as number two in Sydney and Melbourne during the year, Mick Molloy’s ToughLove has underpinned the day, while Tony Martin has added another strong element.

“The Shebang has been the consistently near the top of the ratings in FM drive in Sydney and Melbourne. They are all shows that generate a very loyal following.”

Mr Anderson said Austereo recognised the competitive nature of the radio industry and the success of 2Day FM and Fox FM demonstrated the group’s ability to bring its stations out of the pack and to the top.

“We have two stations returning to top of their markets in Sydney, Melbourne and Mix 94.5 in Perth celebrating a remarkable seven years at the top.

“Triple M in Brisbane has been a strong performer near the top of its market, while in Sydney and Melbourne Triple M has shown consistent success in the middle of the market.

“We’ve also got three stations, Triple M in Adelaide, Perth’s 92.9 and B105 in Brisbane, coming out of turnaround mode and showing encouraging growth for next year.

“This year’s results show the importance of having a clearly defined strategy that recognises success demands a long-term plan, rather than short-term fixes.”

Austereo chairman Peter Harvie said: “This has been a fantastic year for the entire Austereo group and it is a testament to the incredible amount of hard work put in by our dedicated team.

“It positions the group well for continued growth in 2007.”

Triple M Sydney

Triple M has finished 2006 as Sydney’s equal second FM station with an average 8.9 per cent audience share for the year, up from the number four FM station last year.

Triple M slipped slightly in the last survey of the year, dropping 0.5 points to 6.9 per cent, but still retained enough momentum to hang on to the equal number two spot overall.

Austereo Sydney general manager Helen Davies said: “This has been a consistent year for Triple M. At the end of 2005 we were the number four FM station and now, in a much more competitive market, we’re the equal number two. We’re planning a big year for 2007 with some exciting new changes to the station.”

A R N

The Australian Radio Network today welcomed news of big increases in audience share for its Classic Hits station in Sydney, WS FM, and MIX 102.3 in Adelaide – and the spectacular revival of MIX 101.1 in Melbourne.

According to the last ratings survey for the year, WS FM recorded an increase in audience share of 1.6 points to 8.4 per cent, meaning WS FM is now the number two commercial FM station in the toughest radio market in the country.

In Melbourne, MIX 101.1 increased its audience share again, as it has done every survey for the past year.
In Adelaide, MIX 102.3 recorded a huge increase in audience of 2.2 points, taking the station to a 17 per cent share of the audience – well ahead of its competitors for the number one spot.

The Classic Hits station in Melbourne, GOLD FM, remained the second most popular commercial FM station in that city, while 97.3 FM in Brisbane was steady, with 10.1 per cent share of the total audience. MIX 106.5 in Sydney recorded a 0.8 per cent drop in 25-54 audience share to 8.8 per cent.

The Chief Executive of ARN, Bob Longwell, said the results for WS FM in Sydney had been helped by the continuing success of its breakfast show with Jonesy and Amanda Keller, which was now the second highest rating FM breakfast show in the city.

“We are particularly pleased with the results for MIX 102.3 in Adelaide and with the way MIX 101.1 in Melbourne has performed over the past 12 months, gradually building up a loyal audience over that time,” he said. “It has been a remarkable turn-around.”

Mr Longwell said that he welcomed the overall positive results for ARN stations.

2GB

2GB has won the final survey of 2006 with the release of today’s Nielsen Media Research radio survey. 2GB had a clean sweep of the board for 2006, winning all eight surveys.

2GB recorded an 11.5% overall audience share, and its 21st consecutive survey win.
2GB won the year overall with 18.7% share of all commercial listening – well ahead of its nearest competitor, 2DAY with 14.3% share.

Macquarie Radio CEO, Angela Clark said, “Today’s result is a tribute to our entire team; the on-air presenters, the producers, the newsroom, our sporting commentators and the programmers who pull it all together. They have worked to deliver a consistent formula that is clearly a winner with our listeners.”

2CH increased its commercial audience for the final survey of 2006, with 7.8% share. 2CH experienced audience growth in the Breakfast, Drive and Weekend time-slots.

2GB’s audience for the final survey of 2006:

• The Alan Jones Breakfast Show (5.30am-10am) won its 120th survey; with 21.6% of commercial listening for survey 8 and a 22.6% share of commercial listening for 2006

• Ray Hadley’s morning program (10am-1pm) finishes the year with a survey-topping 18.1% share of commercial listening – up from survey 7

• The winning combination of Murray Wilton and Brian Wilshire are number one again in evenings, with 21.6% of commercial listening in the 7pm – midnight time-slot, ahead of their nearest commercial competitor Nova with a 13% share

• 2GB’s success continues with weekend listeners, the weekend line-up won easily with 16.9% of commercial listening

2GB – A Year-on-Top:

• Breakfast (5.30am-9am) Number One – 23.1% of Sydney adult listening – nearest competitor 2Day with 15%

• Morning (9am-Noon) Number One – 19.9% for the year – nearest competitor 2DAY with 13.5%

• 7pm – Midnight…Number One – 22.2% for the year – ahead of Mix on 13.4%

• Weekends another Number One performer – 19.1% share – nearest competitor 2Day with 12.7%. Ray Hadley’s Continuous Call Team had a great result with the 2006 NRL season with almost double the number of male listeners compared to other stations.

702 ABC Sydney

702 ABC Sydney has capped off a year of change with its best share result since August 2005. Share is at 9.9% (Mon- Sun 5:30am-12mn) placing the station third in the market (and second in the talk market) according to today’s latest Nielsen Media Research survey results.

The strength of 702 ABC Sydney is evident in all sessions –

Breakfast with Adam Spencer (M-F 5.30-7.45am) – up from 10.7% to 12.5%; Now No. 2 in market overall during this timeslot; Based on reach – No. 1 Talk & 2nd overall; Mornings with Virginia Trioli (M-F 8.30-11am); No. 2 Talk with share at 8.3%; The Conversation Hour with Richard Fidler (M-F 11am -12 midday ); No. 2 Talk with share at 8.2%; Afternoons with James Valentine (M-F 1pm-3pm) – up from 9.1% to 9.6%; No. 1 Talk based on reach & share; Drive with Richard Glover (M-F 3pm-6pm) – up from 9.6% to 10.3%; No.1 Talk based on reach and share; Evenings with James O’Loghlin (M-F 7pm-10pm) – up from 7.5% to 8.5%.

Station Manager Roger Summerill says: “These are terrific results for the entire 702 team and represent our continued work and focus on providing Sydneysiders with engaging, entertaining and informative radio anywhere, anytime. In a year when we’ve introduced new presenters and new programs it is a great way to finish.”

FIVEaa

FIVEaa has won the ratings year in the Adelaide radio market with an average 10+ share of 15.1%
with the release today of the latest Nielsen Media Research.

Survey #8 Highlights:

FIVEaa’s breakfast team of Keith Conlon, Tony Pilkington, Jon Blake, Jane Doyle and Chris
McDermott – have been the number one breakfast show in Adelaide for 16 consecutive
surveys (that’s two years-in-a-row) holding 18.4% of listeners – 2.9% clear of all other radio
stations.

The FIVEaa Sports Show with Ken Cunningham and Graham Cornes remains the most
popular drive-time radio show in town with a 10+ share of 17.5%.

FIVEaa’s Bob Francis has maintained his domination of nighttime listening in Adelaide with a
10+ share of 25.1%… a massive 13.7 percentage points ahead of his nearest opposition.

FIVEaa’s Michael Keelan has maintained his weekend breakfast radio crown recording an
average 19.4% – 2.4% clear of all other radio stations in Adelaide.

General Manager Paul Bartlett said, “It’s been the best year ever for FIVEaa and this result puts us
in great shape for 2007!”

3AW & Magic1269

3AW finishes the survey year retaining the No.1 position and with a higher share than the same survey last year. Breakfast continues to have the highest share of any station in the metro markets.

Drive increased in share, despite Derryn Hinch being away ill for some of the survey and Evenings bounced back strongly – up 3.1 share points to 15.5, easily regaining the No.1 position.

No. 1 : People 35-64 (14.5% share 10+ M-S, 2.6% ahead of GOLD)

No. 1: Grocery Buyers (17.8% share 10+ M-S, 7.8% ahead of FOXFM)

No. 1: Breakfast (18.6% share 10+ M-F, 5.7% ahead of FOXFM)

No. 1: Morning (16.0% share 10+ M-F, 5.0% ahead of FOXFM)

No. 1: Evening (15.5% share 10+ M-F, 2.6% ahead of FOXFM)

No. 1: Weekends (12.9% share 10+ M-F, 2.0% ahead of FOXFM)

6PR and 96fm

6PR enjoyed a 2.3 share point increase in Evenings and Drive stood steady. Despite a loss in some older demographics, the station remains a clear No.1 amongst People 55+.

96FM has bounced back from the hit it took last survey to move to the No.2 position. The comeback was lead by the People 25-39 demographic (up 3.6 points) and Drive (up 2.8 points).

Magic1278 is recovering from the frequency change, enjoying a 1.1 share point increase amongst People 55+. All sessions except Evenings had increases.