Sydney radio ratings: Ben Fordham back on top as Ray Hadley makes history

Ben Fordham’s 2GB breakfast regains top spot in latest radio ratings as colleague Ray Hadley makes history with 150th consecutive survey win.

Ben Fordham is once again the King of Sydney radio, with his 2GB breakfast show taking out top spot in the latest ratings, while his colleague Ray Hadley has made history earning his 150th consecutive ratings win.

Fordham bounced back from a couple of losses to KIISFM rivals Kyle and Jackie ‘O’, earning an 18.1 per cent audience share for the all-important timeslot in the fourth of eight GfK ratings surveys for 2023.

That represented a jump of 3.1 percentage points and saw the pair well ahead of Kyle and Jackie ‘O’, who came in just behind on 17.1 per cent of audience share.

That is a small drop from their highest-ever ratings figure in their last survey of 17.9, which saw hype around Sandilands’ wedding boost the duo to the strongest numbers of their three-decade-spanning careers.

Sydney commuters can breathe a sigh of relief, as the recently hitched shock jock last survey vowed to masturbate live on air if his breakfast radio show reached a 20 per cent audience share.

Ben Fordham is once again the King of Sydney radio.

Kyle and Jackie ‘O’ came in just behind Fordham.

As the adage goes, once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern.

When KIIS 106.5 knocked 2GB from number one for the first time in 18 years, top station executive Duncan Campbell said: “Whether we can sustain those ratings is the million dollar question.”

“We’ll be doing our best to try and do that obviously. I’d love to get at least three (number one) in a row to prove it’s a real trend,” the chief content officer at KIIS parent company, ARN, told The Daily Telegraph in March.

Today’s ratings (-0.8 points from last survey) have failed to deliver that pattern for KIIS executives.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH. APRIL 29, 2023: Jackie O Henderson and daughter Kitty arriving at Swifts Mansion in Darling Point for the wedding of Kyle Sandilands and Tegan Kynaston. Picture: Tim Hunter.

The other big news in radioland today is 2GB heavyweight Ray Hadley celebrating 150 consecutive ratings survey wins.

Hadley has been number one since survey 4, 2004.

“I’m relieved more than anything else,” Hadley told The Daily Telegraph of his milestone shortly after 10am on Tuesday.

“When you get to 149, you start to get nervous that 150 won’t arrive but it’s done, and it’s down to a lot of hardworking young men and women who get here early and go home late.”

The 68-year-old added that when he started as a “race caller” in 1982, he never envisioned his future career.

Hadley began “calling football in 1987; “started doing this as a fill-in in 1992,”; “before getting my own program in 2002.”

“Ten years later, I never could’ve imagined the success we’ve had. It’s surreal. Let’s hope for 151.”

Ray Hadley has made history earning his 150th consecutive ratings win.

Addressing staff gathered outside the studio to wish Hadley congratulations, Ben Fordham said today was about his colleague’s accomplishment, rather than his reclamation of breakfast.

“Today isn’t about the breakfast show,” Fordham said. “The real story is Ray Hadley notching up 150 ratings wins in a row. It’s unprecedented and extraordinary.

“That’s almost 20 years in a row at number one. When we’ve faced some pressure in breakfast, Ray has been a sensational support and encouraged us not to lose focus and just keep doing what we’re doing. We’re very lucky to have him steering the ship at 2GB.”

Meanwhile in Drive, Chris O’Keefe continues to ramp up listeners for the station, recording an 8.7 audience share (up 1.6 points) from last survey for the 3pm to 6pm timeslot.

O’Keefe’s ratings have improved for four consecutive surveys since he replaced Jim Wilson on 2GB last November, putting him on the tail of Smoothfm (12.0), KIIS (11.6), and NOVA (9.4).