Radio Ratings: Nova holds off 4BC, AM surge in Brisbane radio wars
While Nova swept today’s radio ratings, Brisbane audiences have switched back to Neil Breen and 4BC in a surprising swing towards AM breakfast shows.
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Nova 106.9 has swept Brisbane’s latest radio ratings, holding off a 4BC resurgence as listeners switch back to AM options.
In the penultimate survey of the year, released this morning, Nova took a clear lead as Brisbane’s most listened to station, with 12.1 per cent of the audience Monday to Friday – 1.2 points ahead of nearest rival Triple M – while Ash, Kip, Luttsy & Susie increased their lead in breakfast.
Nova was the only FM station to hold firm against a huge swing towards AM in Brisbane.
After a disappointing fall in his first survey since taking over from shock jock Alan Jones, Neil Breen on 4BC gained a mammoth 2.4 points to come in second overall in breakfast with 10.6 per cent of the audience, surpassing his FM rivals.
ABC Brisbane’s Craig Zonca and Loretta Ryan were third on 10.3 per cent, edging out B105’s Stav, Abby & Matt.
Triple M’s The Big Breakfast and 97.3FM’s Robin, Terry & Bob slipped below the 10 per cent mark to come in on the bubble.
“2020 is a year we’ll never forget and the reset in March really helped us refocus on who we are and what we do and how we make listeners feel,” Nova’s program director Brendan Taylor said.
“These numbers are a testament to our talented teams.”
In a show of support for 4BC, the station recorded a growth of more than two points in every market in the latest survey, seeing them leapfrog ABC and 4KQ to become Brisbane’s preferred AM station.
Ray Hadley dominated mornings overall, beating all his FM rivals, with 13.8 per cent of the audience, ahead of Triple M on 11.5 per cent.
It has Hadley’s best ratings result in Brisbane and 4BC’s first overall timeslot win in 40 years.
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Meanwhile former politician Scott Emerson grew his drive audience to six per cent, only 0.2 points behind ABC’s Steve Austin, in his second survey in the chair.
Breen took over from Jones in Brisbane after he announced his retirement in May, when COVID-19 had paused the ratings surveys, and recorded a 1.5 point fall in his first ratings result in late September.
But his 2.4 point gain today sees him well above Jones’ 7.9 per cent average audience share in 2019.
“We made major changes across the Nine Radio network at the start of the year and the results are proving impressive,” said Greg Byrnes, Nine Radio’s Head of Content.
“The result in Brisbane has been stunning with our return to local content proving remarkable.”
4KQ recorded the biggest drop in today’s results, recording a 2.1 point decline across the seven-day week, as listeners switched back to 4BC.
Meanwhile Nova held onto the drive crown in what was Joel Creasey’s first outing since taking over from Marty Sheargold.
The show recorded a slight dip to 13.7 per cent of the audience, ahead of B105’s Hughesy and Ed on 12.9 per cent.
