Nine’s top radio host Ray Hadley loses for first time in 20 years
A week after 2GB morning host Ray Hadley announced his retirement, it has been revealed that his 160 consecutive ratings survey win has come to an end.
One of the longest unbeaten streaks in Australian radio – 2GB morning host Ray Hadley’s 160 consecutive ratings survey wins – has come to an end.
Hadley, who announced last week that he was retiring at the end of this year, slipped to third place in his timeslot in the latest ratings survey, released on Thursday.
The 70-year-old talkback host, whose unbroken run of 160 radio survey wins stretches back more than 20 years, was beaten in the mornings timeslot by music stations WSFM and smoothfm in the penultimate radio poll of 2024.
Hadley registered an audience share of 11.1 (down 1.3 percentage points from the previous poll), behind WSFM (on 12.7 per cent, up 0.5) and smoothfm 95.3 (steady on 11.2).
“As winners for 20 years we’ve tried to be dignified and today we will try to deal with this in the same way,” Hadley told listeners on Thursday, after the results for the seventh radio ratings survey of the year were released.
“It is not the end of the world, just the end of a record-breaking run. It is a bit hard to complain when you get beaten in the case that we’ve been beaten today when you’ve had so much success over such a long period of time and it would be completely lacking in grace not to congratulate Ugly Phil O’Neil (WSFM mornings show host) for his victory today.”
Last week, Hadley told listeners that despite having two more years left on his contract with 2GB – which is owned by Nine Entertainment – he had grown tired of the early starts.
“Back in September I turned 70 and started to think, ‘how long I have got left on this Earth’, and do I want to keep getting up at 3.30 in the morning,” he said.
Hadley’s 2GB stablemate Ben Fordham retained second spot in the prestigious breakfast timeslot, recording a 12.3 per cent market share (up 0.1 per cent), still trailing the Kyle and Jackie ‘O’ program on KIISFM (13.1 per cent, down 0.6).
Elsewhere in Sydney, the ABC enjoyed strong survey results, with big gains across the mornings (Sarah Macdonald), afternoons (James Valentine) and drive (Richard Glover) timeslots.
In Melbourne, the ABC increased its market share across all weekday timeslots, while crosstown rival 3AW slipped.
The 3AW breakfast program hosted by Ross Stevenson and Russel Howcroft, saw its market share fall 2.5 percentage points to 20 per cent, but the pair retain a massive lead over their nearest rivals, the Nova breakfast trio of Jase Hawkins, Lauren Phillips and Clint Stanaway on 11 per cent (up 1.4 percentage points).
Tom Elliott, who hosts the mornings talkback program on 3AW, also shed listeners in this survey, with his market share falling 2.3 percentage points from 17.8 per cent to 15.5.
The attempt by KIISFM to replicate the Sydney success of the Kyle and Jackie ‘O’ in Melbourne can, after six months, be labelled an unequivocal failure. The duo attracted a market share of just 5.1 per cent (down 0.1 per cent on the previous survey), leaving them eighth in the competitive timeslot.
By way of comparison, the cumulative audience of the Kyle and Jackie ‘O’ show in Melbourne is 428,000; in Sydney, it’s 696,000.
In Brisbane, both the Nine-owned 4BC and the ABC lost market share across all timeslots except their respective drive programs, while the music stations performed strongly.
The survey, which covered the entire period of the Queensland election campaign, right up until the October 26 polling day, suggests listeners tuned out of political discussions as the campaign progressed.
In Adelaide, Triple M’s breakfast team of Mark Ricciuto, Laura O’Callaghan and Chris Dittmar retained top spot in the timeslot, increasing their market share to 14.8 per cent (up 1.8). FIVEaa’s breakfast pairing of Will Goodings and David Penberthy (also a senior writer with The Australian) are in second position, with a 12.2 per cent audience slice (up one percentage point).
In Perth, Nova 93.7’s breakfast trio of Nathan Morris, Nat Locke Shaun McManus retained top spot with an audience share of 16.3 per cent, down 0.1 from the previous survey.
The survey, conducted by research company GfK, covered the period from August 11 to October 26.
We should never have hired ‘activist’ Lattouf: Buttrose
Former ABC chair Ita Buttrose has declared Antoinette Lattouf an activist who was ‘critical of Israel’ and should never have been hired by the public broadcaster, in a feisty Federal Court appearance.
Tough ad market smashes Seven West Media profit
The Kerry Stokes’ backed media company is hurting from a tough advertising market and the impact from major sporting events but there are positive signs on the horizon.