2DayFM content director Adam Williscroft departs following third consecutive ratings drop
Williscroft
Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) has replaced content director of troubled Sydney radio station 2DayFM Hit104.1 Adam Williscroft as it looks to rebuild its ratings.
Adelaide content director Irene Hulme has now taken on the role. The move comes after 2Day’s breakfast show Dan & Maz slipped to a new low in audience share in last week’s GfK radio ratings with just 2.4, ahead only of Sky Sports FM’s Big Sports Breakfast.
SCA refused to be drawn on whether the change was related to the station’s ongoing poor ratings performance saying only that Williscroft was taking a “well-deserved break” and will have “other opportunities with SCA”.
In the survey 2DayFM posted a 2.7 audience share down from 3.3 on Mondays-Friday, its third consecutive drop this year, although it does have Hamish Blake and Andy Lee starting in the Drive slot from July, which bosses hope will help boost the ratings across the rest of the day.
Last week Guy Dobson, chief content officer of SCA told Mumbrella: “We are not stupid to sit here and say we got it right – every single day we are working on how to Sydneyfy the breakfast show, we are working to breakfastfy the Breakfast show.
“Coming from a Drive environment into Breakfast is challenging and it is a different mindset,” he said, referring to how Dan Debuf and Maz Compton were moved from Drive to Breakfast in the hope of reviving the station in the wake of a collapse in rating, following the defection of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson to ARN’s KiisFM.
Today SCA refused to be drawn on the reasons for the changes but said in a statement from Jeremy Simpson, general manager, SCA Sydney: “We can confirm Irene Hulme will take over the content director role at 2Day FM.
“Adam Williscroft will be taking a well-deserved break while we consider a number of other opportunities with SCA.”
Williscroft had been in the role for only seven months and prior to that had been SCA’s regional head of content.
Nic Christensen and Alex Hayes
Correction to line 3 – the correct station name is hit104.1 (not 101.4).
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Hang on a minute. Isn’t he being replaced by the Content Director from the Adelaide HIT station that has had 4 consecutive ratings drops?.The station that went pure HIT as the benchmark brand change last year only to be watered down for the other markets to include the ‘old’ branding? eg B105 and 2Day in the call signs? Who is kidding who here!!
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Did I read this correctly? [quote] “every single day we are working on how to Sydneyfy the breakfast show, we are working to breakfastfy the Breakfast show.” [unquote]
If the Elephant needs to be “Animalfyed,” and “Elepahantised,” by having a “trunkoplasty,” chances are it isn’t an Elephant in the first place.
Again, [quote] “Coming from a Drive environment into Breakfast is challenging and it is a different mindset ” [unquote] If you believe this, then why take this option, not even directed to a healthy breakfast show mind you, but to one sagging and leaning on a cliff edge?
Business as usual is perhaps the best approach, give the confidence to your listeners that though the King is dead, Long live the King.
Proceed as confidently as you can with as much in place as ever there was. The person in the seat may or may not work initially, but at least the ship is afloat and on course. Ratings follow good radio, good radio takes hard work, much devotion and very careful management of all moving parts.
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So sad to see a place that once soared through the skies – not being able to get up and crawl.
As to why they insist with Dan and Maz, who knows? – they are nice kids but they do not resonate with the audiences that drives to and from work. This is why Hughsy and Kate are doing so well. The only ones that can give Kyle and Jackie O a run for their money would be a “Merrick and Rosso” Comedy duo – but we all know that’s never gonna happen.
They would be smart to draw upon their Network Ten contacts and see if “the project” could be somehow replicated on radio.
But who knows – i’m just the DeliveryGuy
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