Sydneysiders stick around for new era for ABC local radio

ABC Radio Sydney Mornings host Hamish Macdonald managed to marginally boost listener numbers for the network in his first radio ratings survey, figures show.

However, ratings were down compared with the last full survey for Sarah Macdonald, who he replaced in a management decision last year which had prompted fury from staff and listeners.

Hamish Macdonald’s show nudged up to a 6.4 per cent audience share – up 0.2 percentage points compared with the final survey of 2024 - while the station lifted its overall market share by 0.7 points to 6.9 per cent in its first survey without veteran host Richard Glover since the 1990s. Sarah Macdonald finished at the ABC at the end of 2024, but she was on leave for a portion of the final survey of the year.

Hamish Macdonald is the new Mornings host on 702 Radio Sydney, replacing Sarah Macdonald.Credit: SMH

Glover stood down as Drive host at the end of last year and was replaced by Chris Bath, who returned to the station after several years at Network 10. Bath grew the Drive show’s audience share by 0.5 percentage points to 7.2 per cent.

The positive start came in stark contrast to the ABC Radio Sydney’s sister station in Melbourne, which delivered its worst ratings survey on record on Thursday.

It was also the first survey for Nine-owned 2GB in Sydney without stalwart Ray Hadley, who left the network in 2024 when he retired after 43 years in radio. His Mornings successor, Mark Levy, had a steady start, slightly dipping by 0.2 percentage points to land on a 13.5 per cent share to narrowly win the time slot.

Hadley was the king of morning radio, consistently topping the rankings in his slot for 20 years straight until his second-last survey.

There was also a disappointing start to a new era at the ABC’s Radio National, with its highly anticipated and revamped Breakfast show – led by Sally Sara and a team of journalists – dropping down 0.9 points to a 1 per cent share, while the station overall had a 1.2 per cent audience share.

While it’s likely the ABC will give the new show plenty of time to bed in, it will be under extra scrutiny. A refreshed Radio National is one of the top priorities for chair Kim Williams in his first year at the public broadcaster.

In Melbourne, the show fell 0.7 points to a 1.8 per cent share, while the station slumped to a total audience share of just 1.2 per cent in Melbourne, halving its result from the previous survey.

The first ratings survey for the year captured the six-week period between January 19 to March 1.

KIIS FM duo Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson, who dominated headlines last year with their poor entry into the Melbourne airwaves, remained in eighth position in the all-important breakfast spot for commercial radio stations, which drives much of their advertising revenue, with a 5.1 per cent share, up just 0.1 points from the previous survey.

In Sydney, they remained popular with a 13.3 per cent share, behind only 2GB’s Ben Fordham.

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