2GB, Ben Fordham, Ray Hadley win Sydney radio ratings

The latest Sydney radio ratings have seen Ben Fordham cement himself at number 1 with listeners keeping the dial on AM during the lockdown.

Ben Fordham has cemented his position as the number one radio host in Sydney.

The 2GB presenter registered an impressive one point jump to continue his leading share of the all-important breakfast market at 19.8 per cent.

It is the station’s best breakfast result in more than a decade. In 2010, then helmed by Alan Jones, 2GB breakfast registered a 20.3 per cent share.

That’s well ahead of nearest rival, ABC Sydney, which recently announced a raft of changes including the departure of Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck at the end of the year. They registered a 15.9 per cent share, which was up 0.2 of a percentage point.

Number one … Ben Fordham. Picture: Gaye Gerard/ Daily Telegraph

Departing ABC hosts Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck came in second in breakfast.

On the FM dial in breakfast, Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson led the pack with a 10.7 per cent share (down 0.1).

Fordham told Confidential there would be “no major celebrations happening today”.

“We love doing what we do and we love knowing that people are listening. It’s a top result for 2GB and all of our presenters and producers,” he said. 

“We spend a lot of time advocating on behalf of our listeners and we appreciate their loyalty.

Industry commentators have noted talk stations benefited through the pandemic with listeners tuning in to hear regular news updates.

This has been true for the past several GfK Sydney Radio surveys, which monitored the city’s listening trends through lockdown.

Overall, across all timeslots, 2GB retained its lead despite a small drop of 0.7 to a share of 15.7 per cent. ABC Sydney overall came in at 12.3 per cent (down 0.7).

Kyle and Jackie O were the number one FM show in breakfast. Picture Mike Batterham

Meanwhile on FM, ARNs WSFM narrowly trumped sister station KIIS FM. WSFM is at 8.1 per cent overall, a rise of 0.5, while KIIS remained stable at 8.0 per cent.In mornings, Ray Hadley on 2GB kept his lead with an 18.3 per cent share, dropping 1.7 percentage points but substantially ahead of the ABC at 12.3 per cent (down 0.3).

On air, Hadley said it was his 137th consecutive survey win and praised colleague Fordham for his “quite remarkable” result. 

“In the mornings, we have 18.3 per cent of the available audience, which is way above what we anticipated,” Hadley said.

The eighth and final radio ratings survey of 2021 will be released on December 14.

Originally published as 2GB, Ben Fordham, Ray Hadley win Sydney radio ratings