B105 joins Nova 106.9 and ABC Brisbane at the top in a strong second radio survey of 2022

In a shake up to Brisbane’s radio wars, B105 has surged up the ranks in the latest radio survey to join ABC at the top in breakfast as 4BC took a tumble.

B105 has emerged to join Nova 106.9 and ABC Brisbane in the race to lead Brisbane’s radio wars as the latest survey results deliver another shake-up to the competitive market.

After the first survey of the year last month recorded a switch to the AM dial – reflecting a turbulent news cycle in Brisbane – the second survey, released on Tuesday, showed a levelling of the playing field with B105 recording the largest growth and 4BC the biggest drop.

While Nova 106.9 held onto the mantle of most listened to station overall, with 10.6 per cent of the seven-day audience, FM rivals B105 grew one point to jump from fourth to second.

ABC Brisbane came in third, taking the mantle of most listened to AM station off 4KQ, which fell to fourth.

Stav Davidson Abby Coleman and Matt Actor from B105's Heroes4Heroes

Despite a 0.8 point drop, ABC’s Craig Zonca and Loretta Ryan held onto top spot in the coveted breakfast market, while B105’s Stav, Abby & Matt leapfrogged the competition to come in second with a mammoth 2.3 point growth – the largest growth across the board in survey two.

It was a strong result for the breakfast show, which previously lagged in sixth in survey one, and pushed long-running FM favourites, Nova’s Ash, Luttsy & Susie, into third spot.

KIIS 97.3’s Robin, Terry & Kip, which includes former Nova colleague Kip Wightman, was fourth, 1.2 per cent behind Nova.

“B105 was 100 per cent live and local during the recent floods, where Stav, Abby and Matt proudly launched Heroes4Heroes,” B105 content director Jack Ball said.

“Our aim every day is to create a radio station that reflects the lives of our audience … we’re so incredibly thankful for every listener who has helped build Brisbane’s radio station, B105.”

FM breakfast team’s Ash, Luttsy and Susie O’Neill swapped the studio and headphones for the Gallipoli Barracks and camouflage and were put through their paces for a military-approved obstacle course and training exercise in support of this year’s Run Army event.

Meanwhile 4KQ retained the mornings timeslot, as did Nova in afternoons.

It’s a promising result for newcomer Maddy Rowe, who joined Nova this year from Townsville, and has helped grow the afternoons audience – bolstered by the one hour of Kate, Tim & Joel which begins at 3pm and is therefore included in the timeslot.

Nova Group Program Operations Director Brendan Taylor said it was an encouraging result for Nova and Brisbane radio.

“Brisbane is a highly dynamic radio market, and with the extraordinary start to the year with lockdown and extreme weather events, it’s encouraging to see more people coming back and listening to radio,” he said.

“It’s particularly pleasing to see Maddy Rowe continue to connect with Brisbane listeners and maintain a market leading position for the second time in a row since she started with Nova in 2022.”

After a strong result in survey one, 4BC recorded losses across the board, including 2.3 points in breakfast, pushing them into seventh behind Triple M.

Scott Emerson continued to struggle in drive losing a further 1.2 points, adding further pressure on him in the timeslot going forward.

Nova’s Kate, Tim & Joel continued to dominate the drive market with a leading 13.4 per cent of the audience share.

RADIO WINNERS

Overall FM: Nova 106.9, 10.6 per cent (-0.2)

Overall AM: ABC Brisbane, 9.6 per cent (+0.3)

Breakfast: ABC Brisbane, 12.4 per cent (-0.8)

Mornings: 4KQ, 11.5 per cent (+0.6)

Afternoons: Nova 106.9, 11.5 per cent (+0.4)

Drive: Nova, 13.4 per cent (+0.1)

BREAKFAST

1. ABC Brisbane, 12.4 per cent (-0.8)

2. B105, 11.4 per cent (+2.3)

3. Nova 106.9, 10.5 per cent (-0.2)

4. KIIS 973, 9.3 per cent (-0.5)

5. 4KQ, 8.1 per cent (-1.8)

6. Triple M, 7.7 per cent (+0.6)

7. 4BC, 7.6 per cent (-2.3)

(Source: GfK)