Radio ratings war to deliver some shocks after some famous departures

The first radio ratings for the year have been released – with some surprise winners and losers.

KIISFM’s $200-million, 10-year investment in Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O’s breakfast radio program and its expansion into Melbourne last year continues to create headaches for radio bosses following the duo’s insignificant 0.1 per cent market share lift in the first radio survey of 2025.

While Kyle & Jackie O continue to dominate the FM stations in Sydney - producing a 13.3 share ahead of second-placed GOLD101.7/WSFM duo Jonesy & Amanda on 8.9 – in polite gentrified Melbourne radio listeners have voted decisively to reject the raunchy Sydney duo.

The pair recorded a 5.1 share (from a potential 100 per cent market) in the latest survey at breakfast landing them well behind top performer 3AW (20.6), GOLD104.4’s Christian O’Connell (11.5), NOVA’s Lauren and Jase (10.1), FOX’s Fifi, Fev and Nick (8.4), Triple M’s Mick (Molloy) in the Morning (7.9), SmoothFM (7.5) and ABC (6.3).

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O.

MORE: Jackie O: My ‘soulless’ $11m deal during addiction

With four broadcasting authority investigations into the KIISFM program’s content underway, there was one glimmer of good news for the radio station’s marketing bosses in Melbourne; they won’t have to take down the “Thanks for making us 8th (#1 struck out) most popular show” billboards erected in February.

As KIISFM executives continue to come to terms with Melbourne’s apathy towards its unapologetically potty-mouthed Sydney duo, the southern capital has reaffirmed its regard for entrenched 3AW talk breakfast show hosts Ross Stevenson and Russel Howcroft (up to 20.6 from 19.3) and Tom Elliott in mornings (19.2 from15.3).

The station lifted by large margins across the day – by 4.5 for afternoon host Tom Moclair (13.6) and by 2.9 for Jacqui Felgate (to 11.4) – an achievement that will be well celebrated at 3AW which operates somewhat independently of the broader Nine Radio entity and with stunning success under station manager Stephen Beers.

GOLD104.4’s Christian O’Connell led the FM pack at breakfast with an 11.5 share.

O’Connell’s results helped GOLD to gains across the day in morning show host Craig Huggins (12.2), afternoon host Toni Tenaglia (12.4), drive host Dave Higgins (12.3) all lifting.

However it was Sydney’s Jonesy & Amanda that recorded the biggest lift with their 6pm evening show reaching 11.3 per cent of the market, up 4.3.

Coming third in the breakfast slot in Melbourne were NOVA’s Jase and Lauren with a 10.1 share, down 1.4 on previous survey.

GOLD’s Brendan 'Jonesy' Jones and Amanda Keller. Picture: Supplied

It comes as Ray Hadley’s longtime understudy and replacement Mark Levy had a surprise win, achieving a 13.5 audience share for 2GB. The figure was down a whisker on Hadley’s final 2024 survey in which he reached a 13.7 audience share, but Levy’s ratings had been expected to drop further.

His unexpectedly elevated figure was likely a result of listeners tuning in to sample the new boy, additionally helped, say radio insiders, by ABC-702 listeners turning over in protest at the loss of Sarah Macdonald from their airwaves.

New ABC-702 morning show host Hamish Macdonald recorded a 6.4 share – down on Sarah Macdonald’s last complete survey, survey 7 of 2024, in which she recorded a 7.5 share of the Sydney audience.

While Nine Radio is today crowing about Levy’s results and 2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham’s market-dominant 14.4 share, swept under the rug were results of afternoons and drive hosts Michael McLaren and Clinton Maynard, the safe and economical talent installed to hold up the station’s afternoon schedule.

Ray Hadley’s longtime understudy and replacement Mark Levy achieved a 13.5 result for 2GB. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

New ABC-702 morning host Hamish Macdonald. Picture: ABC

McLaren, who had a strong debut year in 2024, peaking in survey 5 with a 10.5, dropped significantly to 8.3 (previous survey 9.3) in survey 1.

Maynard, the station’s former news director who took over from Chris O’Keefe in January, managed to hold O’Keefe’s audience and lift by 0.1 to 7.5, likely not the result Nine was hoping for having recruited departed Triple M top-dollar star Mark “MG” Geyer to bolster Maynard’s slot from 5.30pm as a lead-in to 2GB’s Wide World of Sports evening program.

The Sydney FM stations arrived in an indiscernible bunch with ABC-702’s Craig Reucassel delivering a 8.8, NOVA Fitzy Wippa and Kate an 8.7 and SmoothFm an unusually lacklustre 7.6.

In Richard Glover’s former ABC-702 drive slot, Chris Bath had a 0.5 lift to a 7.2 per cent market share which puts her within striking distance of 2GB’s Maynard in the same slot.SCA’s 2DAYFM continued to lose ground in Sydney, slipping to 3.8 from a previous 4.2 in 2024 for the new breakfast show Jimmy Smith, Nathan Roye and Emma Chow.

Originally published as Radio ratings war to deliver some shocks after some famous departures