Sydney radio ratings released as breakfast battle rages on

The gap has narrowed in the all important Sydney breakfast radio market, as Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson continue to go toe to toe with Ben Fordham.

The Kyle and Jackie O and Ben Fordham rivalry has continued. pictures supplied.

The gap has narrowed in the all important Sydney breakfast radio market with KIIS FM remaining number one but Ben Fordham on 2GB fighting back after taking a hit in the first survey of the year.

Overall though, talkback station 2GB has reclaimed its title as top station in Sydney with a share of 11.8 per cent of the listening market, beating KIIS on 11.5 per cent.

That represents a jump of 0.8 of a percentage point for 2GB and a drop of 0.4 of a percentage point for KIIS.

The second of eight GfK radio ratings surveys for the year shows a fierce battle playing out for listeners.

In breakfast, KIIS duo Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson came in with a leading 15.1 per cent share, representing a drop of 0.8 of a percentage point on the previous survey, but still ahead of Fordham on 2GB with his share of 14.7 per cent, rising 0.7 of a percentage point.

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson. Picture: Supplied/ACRA

Ben Fordham. John Feder/The Australian.

“It is great to have 2GB back at number one but we take nothing for granted,” Fordham said. “The breakfast battle will continue and we will keep on punching hard.

“I’m just happy with how the show is sounding and the response we get every day from our sensational listeners. I haven’t had a chance to study the ratings but congrats to everyone who has done well.”

Elsewhere in breakfast, WSFM is the third ranking station with hosts Brendan Jonesy Jones and Amanda Keller scoring a 10.2 per cent audience share (up 0.7), followed by smoothfm at 7.1 per cent (up 0.6), Nova 96.9’s Fitzy, Wippa and Kate Ritchie at 7.0 per cent (up 0.1) and ABC Sydney at 7.0 per cent (down 1.3).

Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones sit third in the breakfast battle.

The team at 2Day FM were cheering after the show there of Dave Hughes, Ed Kavalee and Erin Molan scored the highest ratings in breakfast in a decade with a share of 5.4 per cent, an increase of 1.1 per cent.

“We have a laugh and we give away a s***load of cash to our listeners … as long as they don’t make me marry myself again I reckon we could be onto a winning formula,” Molan told Confidential.

“In all honesty, we know we’ve got a great show and we always knew it was going to take time in the hardest market in the country. We are so grateful to all who listen and are part of the Hughesy, Ed and Erin family. We love you all.”

Erin Molan is grateful for the listeners. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

GfK this year began providing accumulative and average audience figures in its initial survey results releases.

That provides a deeper look at total audience numbers and average audience, which is used by advertising agencies. 

For breakfast, that means Kyle and Jackie O have this latest survey drawn a total audience of 854,000 listeners from 5.30am to 9am compared to Fordham on 2GB with 493,000.

Traditionally on the AM dial, shares are higher as listeners generally tune in for longer.

Back to overall stations, the third station in Sydney came in at smoothfm 95.3 with a 9.7 per cent share (down 0.6), ahead of WSFM at 9.4 per cent (up 0.5). The ABC continued its decline from previous surveys with a share of 5.5 per cent, down 0.4 of a percentage point.

Ray Hadley recorded his 148th consecutive radio ratings survey win. Picture: Jonathan Ng

In the morning timeslot, starting at 9am, 2GB’s Ray Hadley increased his market lead by 0.3 of a percentage point to a 14.3 per cent share, well ahead of nearest rival KIIS at 11.1 per cent, which took a hit of 1.8 per cent.

On air, Hadley said: “Survey number two of 2023, the radio survey, has just been released and I am happy to say that after a little dip last survey, 2GB is back where it had been previously for 19 years at number one.”

Hadley added: “Well done to KIIS at breakfast, they are again number one but this time Ben has very much edged closer to them. I am very happy to say that in the mornings we have recorded our 148th consecutive victory.”