Although early in the year 2017, media companies and their advertisers will be closely examining the results of Metro Radio Survey 2 for its different ramifications. This holds true in the major metropolitan radio markets as it does in the rest of Australia. As usual, this year’s second set of figures makes for compelling reading. Here are the pertinent results we can glean from Metro Radio Survey 2 which has just come out.
Locally here in Sydney in the FM niche, Smooth FM has again slid ahead of KIIS for the top spot with its 9.9% share compared to KIIS’s 7.8% share. This particular market is very competitive and their continued trading of places in 2017 should not surprise anyone. This will probably not make ARN happy as WSFM dropped 1.4 share points to 7.0 after taking number 1 spot in survey 1. 2GB maintained their lead in the overall market with a 0.3 share gain to 11.6%.
For this period, the margins were not as close between the two top FM spots due to Smooth FM’s 1.6 share gain. Breaking down the numbers, Smooth registered a share increase in every demographic except All People 10 – 17, and share increases in every daypart which explains their overall growth. KIIS’s 2.4 share drop for 10-17’s and 1.8 share drop with evening listeners unfortunately did not help them. Nova saw a noticeable increase in cume of 118,000 to 1,005,000 listeners.
Moving south to Melbourne, the forecast is still looking great for the Macquarie radio network as 3AW once again ruled the roost as Melbourne’s most popular radio station with an audience share of 13.8%, up 0.8 from the last survey.
Again, as reflected in previous MediaSmith’s summaries, a major component of this triumph continues to be the ratings sweep which is 3AW Breakfast with Ross Stevenson and John Burns. The pair amassed an amazing 123rd consecutive position at the top spot, and they are still climbing with a 1.0 share gain from the last survey. The magnitude of this disparity may lead the market to brainstorm for alternative programming—what that would be would be the operative question. For this period, Smooth overtook Fox FM for dominance of the FM dial with a 9.9 share. Factors dragging down Fox FM were an 8.6 share drop among 10-17 year olds, a 1.4 drop in the drive slot, and a 1.7 slide among evening listeners.
Heading to Perth, NOVA 93.7 maintained its second spot over third place HIT 92.9 with an 11.8% share. Market leader MIX 94.5 holds a somewhat comfortable margin over the competition with a 14.5 share, yet it did experience a slight 0.2 share drop from the previous survey.
Adelaide once again features a competitive market with three stations battling it out for the top spot with two others not far behind. MIX 102.3 sits atop the pack at 12.5% having experienced a 0.5 share increase since the last survey. Fiveaa jumped into second place out of the commercial stations with 11.6% share. NOVA91.9 came in at third with a slight gain to 10.6% and a noticeable increase in cume of 15K this survey to 322,000 leading all other stations in cumulative audience.
Finally, we arrive at Brisbane where we have three stations in a tight race. NOVA106.9, with a big 2.8 gain since the last survey, is in first at 13.8% share. Meanwhile, HIT 105 at 11.5% crept ahead of 97.3 FM by a margin of 0.1 share to emerge at second spot. 97.3 FM’s drop of 1.1 to 11.4% contributed to their slide to third place. Looking at the sessions, it’s a very narrow sprint to the finish in breakfast with 0.6 share points separating the top 3 stations. Number 1 in brekky is Nova at 12.8 followed by Triple M at 12.3 and third is Hit 105 with 12.2 points.
Australia’s radio market in 2017 continues to be both riveting and unpredictable at times. We again thank the people at GFK for their excellent statistical breakdowns of this interesting medium. We continue to rely heavily on those numbers to yield insight into the industry and assist our clients with budget management throughout the year. Keep checking in with us for lots more commentary as the year unfolds!
Source : GFK Survey 2, 2017
