Radio wars: Reshuffled Nova tops ratings ahead of new contender

Brisbane’s reshuffled Nova line-up and AM rival 4KQ have gone toe to toe at the top of the penultimate radio survey of the year, while a new contender has emerged from the ranks.

A reshuffled Nova has remained on top in Brisbane’s radio wars for a consecutive survey ahead of a surging 4KQ and 97.3FM.

In the penultimate survey of 2021, released on Tuesday, Nova was the most listened to station in Brisbane, with 11.5 per cent of the audience share, while they also went back-to-back in breakfast and drive.

It was the final survey result for outgoing breakfast host Kip Wightman, who resigned last month. The breakfast show is set to continue as Ash, Luttsy and Susie in 2022 with afternoons presenter Chris Bezzina moving to breakfast as show anchor.

Nova's Ash, Luttsy and Susie are the top-rating breakfast show. Photo Lachie Millard

“The results today are so rewarding for the whole team. The focus on the product by Ash, Luttsy, Susie and the entire producing team has remained consistent and united - that to me means the most,” said Brendan Taylor, Nova’s group program operations director.

Meanwhile AM rivals 4KQ maintained second spot overall, closing the gap to a slim 0.2 points behind Nova with 11.3 per cent of the audience.

Breakfast show Laurel, Gary and Mark, who recently celebrated 15 years on air together, also held onto second and the station maintained its win in the mornings timeslot.

97.3FM was the big mover, growing 1.7 points overall following consistent growth in recent surveys to come in third in what was the station’s best result since 2019.

Breakfast show Robin, Terry and Bob jumped 0.8 points to come in fourth in breakfast behind ABC Brisbane – making them second of the FM options.

4KQ's Laurel, Gary and Mark recently celebrated 15 years on air

Notably, 97.3FM’s drive show Will & Woody was up 2.2 points to come in second in drive behind Nova, beating both B105 and Triple M.

Another big mover was 4BC’s Neil Breen, who jumped 1.2 points to fifth in breakfast, putting previous FM juggernauts, B105’s Stav, Abby and Matt and Triple M’s The Big Breakfast, on the bubble in sixth – each with just 8.3 per cent of the audience.

4BC also leapfrogged AM rivals ABC Brisbane overall while new afternoons presenter Sofie Formica grew 0.5 points and Scott Emerson’s drive show jumped 1.2 points.

“4BC 882 continues to increase its audience share across South-East Queensland,” 4BC content manager Max Dudley said. “We’re on track to end a big year of local programming on a high.”

Triple M was the new leader in afternoons, however, taking the mantle from Nova.

The final survey of 2021 will be released in December.

RADIO WINNERS

Overall FM: Nova, 11.5 per cent (-0.2)

Overall AM: 4KQ, 11.3 per cent (+0.4)

Breakfast: Nova, 13.1 per cent (0.0)

Mornings: 4KQ, 13.3 per cent (+1.2)

Afternoons: Triple M, 11.9 per cent (+1.3)

Drive: Nova, 15.1 per cent (-0.1)

BREAKFAST

1. Nova, 13.1 per cent (0.0)

2. 4KQ, 12.0 per cent (0.0)

3. ABC Brisbane, 10.5 per cent (-1.1)

4. 97.3FM, 10.3 per cent (+0.8)

5. 4BC, 9.3 per cent (+1.2)

6. B105, 8.3 per cent (-0.7)

6. Triple M, 8.3 per cent (+0.4)

(Source: GfK)