ABC radio hosts ‘on notice’ as ratings plunge

ABC management is looking to ‘act quickly’ to arrest the dramatic slide in radio audience numbers amid deepening concern over the ‘catastrophic’ figures.

The ABC’s internal ­advisory group is expected to present its findings to managing director David Anderson before the end of the financial year. Picture: AAP

All on-air presenters at ABC Radio’s metropolitan stations ­nationwide are “on notice” ahead of the tabling of an internal report into the troubled network.

ABC Radio audiences have been in free fall since the tail end of the pandemic in late 2021 and the national broadcaster’s internal ­advisory group, which was established in February to review all metropolitan programs and presenters, is expected to present its findings to managing director David Anderson before the end of the financial year.

The Australian understands that ABC management is looking to “act quickly” to arrest the dramatic slide in audience numbers, amid deepening concern that the ratings figures – which one insider labelled in 2022 as “catastrophic” – have continued to plummet in the first two surveys of this year.

The advisory group is assessing the performance of each and every program presenter across the ABC’s metro network, with one well-placed source telling The Australian that some changes to the on-air line-ups before the end of the year were “inevitable”.

James Valentine’s shift to breakfast radio has been met with a sharp fall in listeners. Picture: Richard Dobson

One factor being considered by the nine-person advisory group, which is spearheaded by the broadcaster’s head of corporate strategy, Jeremy Millar, is the failure to recruit fresh talent from outside the taxpayer-funded giant, which has left its airwaves dominated by “ABC lifers”, according to a well-placed source.

“Too many of our hosts sound the same, and offer the same views on the same topics,” another insider told The Australian.

“They have not read their audiences … certainly not in radio, and not in TV either. You look at every piece of their editorial output – they have gone too Left, too woke, too fast.

“Given that the majority of the ABC’s listeners and viewers are over 50 these days, that hasn’t played that well among the audience. Unless you evolve with your audience, you’re going to be left behind.”

The ratings collapse across ABC Radio’s metro stations began towards the end of 2021, when Australia’s major cities were emerging from the final lockdowns of the pandemic. Like its rival commercial AM stations, radio ratings had soared during the pandemic but when lockdowns were lifted, ABC listeners fled – and 18 months on, many of them haven’t ­returned.

Of particular concern for ABC management is the poor performance of the ABC breakfast programs across the five key metro markets – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

With those shows failing to provide a springboard to the programs that follow, the low ratings for the breakfast timeslot have been replicated across the day’s schedules.

ABC Adelaide breakfast team Stacey Lee and Nikolai Beilharz.

Since October 2021, the ABC Sydney breakfast program (hosted by James Valentine) has lost half its audience, slipping from an audience share of 15.9 per cent to 7.0; similarly, Melbourne’s breakfast show (presented by comedian Sammy J) has slipped from 14.3 to 6.7; Brisbane (Loretta Ryan and Craig Zonca) has dropped 10.5 to 8.1; Adelaide (Stacey Lee and ­Nikolai Beilharz) has slumped from 15.8 to 10.4, and Perth (Stan Shaw) is down from 10.5 to 6.1.

Prior to the dramatic ratings dip, then ABC Radio Sydney manager Melanie Withnall said the station was spoiled for choice when it came to its on-air talent.

“We have a very strong line-up of presenters with a great depth of experience, so we were always going to recruit from within,” she said, when announcing James Valentine was shifting from the afternoon show to replace Robbie Buck and Wendy Harmer in the breakfast timeslot.

“Our presenters for next year are well known and well loved and are all capable of delivering entertaining, informing and at times, surprising content.”

On Sunday, an ABC spokesman declined to comment on the radio ratings, nor the likelihood of on-air changes in coming weeks.

But another senior editorial figure at the ABC said the establishment of the advisory group was a positive step towards wooing audiences back to the broadcaster’s metro radio stations.

“There seems to be a real appetite at management level to get this sorted out. It’s a big ship to turn around, but it can be done.”