KiisFM boss warns returning Hamish and Andy are ‘no silver bullet’ for rival Hit Network
Davis speaking last night.
The boss of KiisFM has fired a shot across the bow of rivals Hit Network ahead of the return of star duo Hamish and Andy to the radio later this year, declaring their Drive timeslot the radio battleground of 2015.
Speaking at APN News and Media’s media and client briefing last night Australian Radio Network (ARN) CEO Ciaran Davis said: “For us the Drive market is critically important.
“Let me just say now it is a very different landscape to 2010 when H & A (Hamish and Andy) – I don’t like to say their names – were the only national Drive show. Today you have four very good ones – TripleM, you have ourselves, you have Nova and you have Hamish and Andy.
“The competitive landscape is incredibly different. Drive accounts for 12 per cent of overall listening so even if Hamish and Andy were doing the shares they were doing in 2010 – which I doubt because they are up against three other national shows – the overall impact in terms of share, the station and the overall impact on the network will be not as strong as the silver bullet some people might want.”
Southern Cross Austereo has been urging media buyers to wait until Hamish and Andy return later in the year before judging them, amid massive audience declines for its Hit Network.
Davis hailed the success of KissFM’s Drive pairing of Dave Hughes and Kate Langbroek since they returned this year in building share for the network nationally.
He also trumpeted its national sales offering across the Kiis network, after it acquired radio station 96FM earlier this year. “Now we’ve been representing 96FM for the last few years and we understand the frustrations you have had when we have been able to offer a fully integrated campaign across the five metro markets,” said Davis. “That is now happening.”
The ARN boss said Drive would be key in 2015. “Drive will be a hot button across the industry,” he said. “especially for the next six months.
“We are very pleased with Hughsey and Kate who came on board at the start of the year 1.6m audience. They are very in Melbourne and also other markets where they weren’t as well known.
Speaking to Mumbrella, after the event, ARN’s boss also emphasised the importance audio streaming product iHeart Radio, saying that the service was complementing its other assets.
“I think streaming services are the new record collection”, said Davis. “People listen to radio at a certain part of the day to understand what is going on in the world… but if you overlay the day of listening for ARN stations with iHeart Radio it comes into its own post 3pm – so we are complementing each other and growing the audience.”
Nic Christensen
No silver bullet but still five thousand silver bullets better than Kyle and Jackie O.
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This kind of “shot firing” equates to fear and uncertainty. Davies doesn’t like to say their name only because he wishes he had them in drive rather than a tired pairing [Edited by Mumbrella]
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It’s good to be the King……
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