The move by ARN to bring star radio duo Kyle and Jackie O to Kiis 1065 has proven a winner, with audiences defecting from 2DayFM en masse. And the duo's new boss has hit back at any suggestions that the pair were not always the easiest to stomach for advertisers.
The first ratings survey by new provider GfK showed dramatic swings in Sydney, with 2DayFM down 4.4 points in People 10+ to just 4.0% share, while Kiis 1065 leaps to top FM spot, up 5 points to 8.4%.
Fellow ARN station WSFM took out the number two FM spot, picking up 1.7 points to 8.1% share. In the breakfast timeslot, Kiis and WSFM tied at equal first with 9.3% share each.
Macquarie Radio Network's 2GB remains the undisputed king of AM, despite a slight drop of 0.7 points to 12.6% share. ABC 702 came in second, also down 0.8 points to 9.6% share.
In a statement, ARN chief executive Ciaran Davis said: "This is a fantastic day for everyone at ARN. Having the number one and number two FM stations in Sydney has been a key part of our long-term strategy so to have achieved this in survey one is a great moment for the entire ARN team."
National content director Duncan Campbell said: "It's testament to both Kyle and Jackie O and Jonesy and Amanda’s incredibly loyal and passionate fan-base, and the hard work and the excellent production team who have worked for months behind the scenes, coming in from day one with the sole purpose of making great radio and executing our content strategy extremely well."
Southern Cross Austereo chief content officer Guy Dobson told AdNews the drop was always expected. "We made the decision to change that show in November for the right reasons," he said. "We knew what we were in for – this isn't new news to us. We've replaced a 14-year-old show with a 14-week-old show. [The drop] has happened quicker than we we thought, but we know where we stand now."
Dobson said internal research had shown an "upwards surge" in the replacement breakfast show with Merrick Watts, Sophie Monk, Jules Lund and Mel B. Asked how long the new show had to pick up its ratings, Dobson indicated SCA was in for the long haul, and that it could take "years" to build up an audience.
He said the new team was more "advertiser-friendly" and conversations with media buyers and brands had moved away from "spots and dots". "The new show is doing things the old show wouldn't. We're having more conversations, broader conversations, discussions about value-add, what else we can do for clients, integrating our show with brands branded content – all those discussions we weren't having before."
Dobson said Sydney and Melbourne was a "tale of two cities". SCA's FoxFM kept its number one spot with an 8.5% share, followed by Nova with 7.9% and ARN's Gold 104.3 with 7.8%. "We held up in Melbourne which was fantastic. We got out of jail free in several of our markets where we made big changes."
Meanwhile, ARN's Campbell has hit back at suggestions made by SCA counterpart Guy Dobson that Kyle and Jackie O were too hot for some advertisers to work with. But he didn't deny them.
"The facts are that they didn't like working at SCA therefore they were difficult," he told AdNews. "But we have involved them very deeply and they appreciate that. Clients are looking for deeper integration with talent and Kyle and Jackie are very good from that perspective."
Following the switch, Campbell said that ARN had expected Kiis to become number one in FM but "not that quickly, so full credit to the marketing team as well as the talent”. Campbell said it showed how important talent was to radio, and how loyal listeners were. "I could never understand why SCA let them go. What has happened today is historic. There is no longer any ambiguity. The audience has moved on."
More broadly, he said that radio continues to suffer from "underplaying itself". "It is a powerful medium. Listening is strong – and it is the same story in the US. Nobody has been able to replace its portability and personality."
Paul Jackson, group program director at Nova Entertainment, said that the new numbers put Nova in “its strongest ever position”, and that with its first survey of the year generally being Nova's weakest, “we've set up brilliantly for the rest of the year”.
However, he stressed it was early days, and one book did not make a schedule. "It's a good early indicator once we've got three or four under our belt – at the half year point – we can really reflect on what has happened. Then we can have a good assessment of where everybody is at."
Sydney social media rankings...
Melbourne social media rankings...
Click to download the charts...
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.
Have something to say? Send us your comments using the form below or contact the writer at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.