ABC radio shake-up begins amid concern about falling ratings across its networks

The public broadcaster has begun meeting with on-air radio talent to discuss their futures amid falling ratings across the ABC’s major stations.

ABC Sydney breakfast radio James Valentine. Picture: Richard Dobson

ABC management has begun meeting with on-air radio talent to discuss their futures amid a major revamp of the corporation’s metropolitan and regional stations.

Executives remain extremely concerned about the trouble-plagued radio arm and the need to speed up the required changes, after an internal report revealing systemic problems, and including a long list of recommendations, went to the ABC board in June.

The Australian can reveal that these recommendations have now been assessed by chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor and recently appointed head of audio content Ben Latimer.

A presentation was given to ABC board members at their most recent meeting on August 22.

A shortlist of changes needed to urgently fix the radio stations is being examined with the aim of minimising a continued exodus of listeners before the year’s end.

Management has also met with high-profile broadcasters, ­including ABC Sydney’s breakfast host James Valentine and drive host Richard Glover as it looks to overhaul programs across its ­stations nationwide.

ABC Sydney drive radio host Richard Glover.

The Australian understands that no on-air or off-air talent is safe and all will remain under scrutiny amid the ongoing review.

The shortlist includes assessing the future of talent, analysing the music that is played during programs, ensuring their content compatibility with audiences and identifying a clear audience demographic.

It also includes ensuring that listeners get both sides of the story on various issues and that there is a balance of local, cultural and political topics across the whole country.

The ABC has received feedback that too often stations fill ­airtime with lengthy conversations and instead should be providing news updates and information. A long-running criticism is that there is a persistent thread of inner-city content aired across both metropolitan and regional stations without focusing on issues connecting with listeners in their own communities.

 

The ABC set up the review of its radio arm with a team led by the head of corporate strategy Jeremy Millar that also included Warwick Tiernan – who retired after 20 years with the ABC in Melbourne and finished on Friday – Dina ­Rosendorff, ABC Radio Sydney manager Steve Ahern and experienced media executive Dr Cherie Romaro.

According to the ABC’s 2022 annual report, capital city radio stations reached an estimated 2.5 million listeners each week and its weekly streams of capital city stations increased by 21 per cent year-on-year to 881,000.

The annual reportalso said the percentage of people who believed the ABC radio provided quality programming had fallen from 65 per cent in 2017-18 to 56 per cent in 2021-22.

The ABC has more than 60 radio stations across the country, including in the major cities and regional areas. Those with national reach include Radio National, ABC Classic, triple j, Double J, ABC Sport, ABC News, ABC Country, ABC Jazz, ABC Classic 2 and Radio Australia.

In latest on-air moves, ABC Melbourne’s mornings host ­Virginia Trioli announced that she would leave her program on Friday, September 15.

She will be replaced by the station’s drive host Rafael Epstein, and he will be replaced by Ali Moore until year’s end.

Virginia Trioli is quitting ABC Melbourne’s morning show later this month.

Epstein told listeners on Friday that regular criticisms of the ABC proved the presenters were doing a good job.

“We know how important this place is, we know how much people value what we do, we know that because of the way the other people who are competing for eyeballs and ears attack us all the time,” he said. “I actually think that every time the other people who want some of our listeners and readers attack us, it’s just proof that we are doing the right stuff.”

Trioli led the mornings program for four years, succeeding Jon Faine, and she has suffered falling ratings during this time.

In 2019, the mornings program had an audience share of 11.8 per cent and was third in its slot, but in last week’s survey it had an audience share of 7.5 per cent and was fifth in its slot. Overall, ABC Melbourne is the seventh most popular station in the Victorian capital with an audience share of 7.1.

In the latest official survey results, ABC Sydney was the sixth most popular station, with an audience share of 6.1 per cent. Valentine is among the hosts who has suffered falling ratings since he took over the timeslot from Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck at the beginning of 2022. His audience share has plummeted from 11.6 to 7.8 per cent.

The ABC would not comment.