ARN has downplayed a 1.5 point drop for Jonesy and Amanda in the Sydney market as a mere abberation, saying the network is confident they'll bounce back.
Speaking to AdNews after the latest survey results, ARN's national content director Duncan Campbell said a 1.5 point drop to the pair was not a particular concern.
“Jonesy and Amanda have had hits against them before, and there's no real reason we can see behind the hit,” Campbell said.
“Sometimes there's no particular reason behind the drop, and we're confident we'll see their numbers get back in survey periods two and three.”
ARN took out the number one station nationally, and won Sydney in FM.
It also regained the number one spot in Brisbane and remained on top in Adelaide, with newly-acquired Perth station 96FM rising to number two during the survey period.
Campbell said the success of the network was about content rather than a particular focus on marketing.
“Our results are about confidence in our strategy and staying the course. We also invest a lot in our content, and our focus is really on making our content the best,” Campbell said.
He also responded to comments made by Nova Entertainment group marketing director Tony Thomas in The Australian yesterday, saying it was only a matter of time until SmoothFm became the number one station in Sydney.
“It's obviously good to be bullish about your own station, but they've been talking about being number one for quite a while. It will take a lot for them to overcome WSFM in this market,” Campbell said.
Campbell also highlighted the poor performance of Southern Cross Austereo's Hit Network, saying that there would be soul-searching in the SCA boardroom.
“I'd question how the Hit Network is doing. It's performing pretty poorly nationwide, and it needs to be stronger before the arrival of Hamish and Andy in July, so I'd think there are a lot of questions being asked in the SCA boardroom this morning,” Campbell said.
* an earlier version of this story stated ARN won Sydney. It did, but only in FM, with 2GB taking the overall crown.
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