Sydney radio ratings: 2GB come out on top with Ben Fordham win
2GB’s Ben Fordham has paid credit to former colleague Alan Jones after winning the Sydney breakfast radio ratings and says while he “wasn’t prepared” for such a huge result, he is “relieved and blown away.” SEE THE FIGURES HERE
Confidential
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A changing of the 2GB guard has paid off.
The gamble of replacing Alan Jones with a new breed of listener led by Ben Fordham has triumphed for the broadcaster in what has been dubbed the most anticipated radio ratings in decades.
Fordham’s breakfast show result came in top of the class with a market leading share of 17.3 per cent, almost identical to that of predecessor Jones on his last survey at 17.9 per cent.
The station took a generational gamble on replacing veteran broadcaster Jones with the much younger Fordham. It was feared that Jones’ stalwart listeners would desert the breakfast timeslot but it appears they have stuck to the dial with Fordham bringing a new generation of younger listeners.
Publicity spin was in overdrive leading into the GfK survey result with conservative estimates of a 10 to 12 per cent share for Fordham. Some have suggested the spin was led by executives preparing the market for a drop.
Additionally, ratings have been on hold for several months due to coronavirus, which made the figures even more unpredictable. Usually the figures rollover from the previous survey, whereas this result marks a restart.
Fordham played down the win while speaking to Confidential after the results were released.
“It is only one survey and there are many more to come,” he said.
“I think it is probably the most competitive shift anywhere in the country and I am up against superstars on every station.
“For us as a new show to compete with those kind of programs and to do well, we are relieved and also very thankful to our listeners, who have stuck with us.
“I tend to prepare for the worst and hope for the best and so I wasn’t preparing for a figure like this but I am just really thankful that I have got great people around me, I have got a talented team who work their guts out every day, I put them under a lot of pressure and they rise to the occasion every morning and I am really thrilled for them because of the hard work they put in but also for our listeners.”
Fordham was also quick to credit Alan Jones, saying he didn’t “underestimate the incredible record of Alan Jones”.
“No other broadcaster has achieved what he achieved and so that is why I am blown away by the loyalty shown to me by the audience because I don’t underestimate for a moment the significance of Alan Jones leaving the building.”
Elsewhere at 2GB, Ray Hadley’s morning show remained the market leader in the timeslot with a whopping share of 16.8 per cent. Station newcomers Deb Knight and Jim Wilson recorded slight drops.
“It is the first radio ratings that haven’t included Alan Jones who has dominated breakfast radio ratings in Sydney for 30 years, having retired from radio,” Hadley said on air this morning.
“The expectation was it would impact on the entire radio scene. 2GB has been the number one station for over 16 years has recorded an unprecedented 127 survey victories up until today. Alan Jones turned the fortunes of this network around 18 years ago and today it is up to those here now to uphold the standards. On that basis, I am absolutely delighted to say that the figures are quite remarkable.”
Replacing Fordham in the afternoon drive shift, Wilson registered a 9.1 per cent share, a drop of 1.4 per cent. Former Today show host Knight came in at 10.5 per cent, down just 0.9 percentage points.
Across the board, 2GB remained the top radio station in Sydney with its share of 14.2 per cent, shedding 0.6 percentage points, well ahead of its nearest rival ABC Sydney at 10.5 per cent, a rise of 0.9 percentage points.
It was a spectacular survey result for smoothFM, which overall registered a 9.9 per cent share of the Sydney radio market and enjoyed increases across all timeslots.
Behind Fordham in breakfast came ABC Sydney’s Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck, who benefited from Jones’ departure with a share of 12.5 per cent, up 1.6 per cent, followed by KIIS duo Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson.
Sandilands applauded the results and shared a blunt message for his rivals.
“Listen up everyone, survey results came out and yes of course, The Kyle and Jackie O show is still obviously number one FM right across the country,” Sandilands said.
“Over on the AM network, Ben Fordham still holds the number one spot in Alan Jones’ old spot. He did pretty good but then most people who listen to 2GB don’t even know how to change the radio so how well did he do? A lot of them are on respirators so it’s very difficult for them to change the channel,” he joked.
“Well done Ben, well done us and suck it to everyone else that took a tumble in the ratings.”
On KIIS’ sister station WSFM, Brendan ‘Jonesy’ Jones and Amanda Keller scored an 8.6 per cent share, down 0.5 percentage points, followed by smoothFM at 7.2 per cent (up 0.6) and Nova 96.9s Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald and Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli at 6.4 per cent (down 1.3).
In drive, smoothFM’s Byron Webb was the most listened to show with a leading 10.4 per cent, a jump of two per cent, ahead of ABC Sydney at 10.2 per cent, KIIS duo Will McMahon and Woody Whitelaw at 10 per cent (up 1.0 per cent), Wilson on 2GB at 9.1 per cent and Nova 96.9s Kate Ritchie, Tim Blackwell and Joel Creasey at 8.9 per cent.