Radio station SEN reeling after breakfast show slumps dramatically in latest ratings

SPORTS radio station SEN is reeling after its much hyped breakfast show was among a number of programs to slump dramatically in the latest ratings survey.

Garry Lyon, Hamish McLachlan, Tim Watson and Sam McClure. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

SPORTS radio station SEN is reeling after its much hyped breakfast show slumped dramatically in the latest ratings survey.

The return of Garry Lyon to SEN alongside Tim Watson and Hamish McLachlan in the key early morning slot came with much fanfare and at a cost of more than $1.5 million.

After a slow start there was improvement in the ratings during the last survey but that ground was wiped out on Tuesday with the latest numbers not good reading, 3.3 down to 2.6.

At the same time last year SEN’s breakfast show rated 3.5 and was 3.6 in 2015.

Garry Lyon at SEN. Picture: Jason Edwards

SEN morning show host Kevin Bartlett. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Management had been confident of continued improvement with an expectation the new show on the back of Lyon’s return to the station would be around 4.5 by the middle of the year.

There have been constant rumours surrounding the line-up with suggestions McLachlan has been reassessing his future.

The station took a hit across-the-board, falling from a rating figure of 3.9 to 3.1.

Popular morning show host Kevin Bartlett took a hit falling from 4.3 to 3.4 while ‘Afternoons with Francis Leach’ went 3.2 to 2.9.

The Run Home with David Schwarz and Mark Allen slipped from 4.8 to 3.8 with `Evenings with Finey’ down 5.1 to 3.3.

SEN general manager Cathy Thomas said the station would continue to back its breakfast line-up.

“This is a long-term strategy and we have other key indicators that demonstrate we are on the right track,” Thomas said.

“The number of downloads for podcasts have doubled and we’re seeing that people are consuming radio differently.”

Scott Gullan appears on RSN927’s breakfast program.