Features
ARN’s Duncan Campbell praises KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O for making radio history
ARN's Duncan Campbell has reason to be in a good mood post ratings survey four of 2021 as he speaks to Mumbrella's Emma Shepherd about KIIS FM Kyle & Jackie O's historic victory of becoming #1 breakfast radio show across both AM and FM bandwidths.
The results for survey four are in and Australian Radio Network (ARN) is making history.
Kyle and Jackie O have become the #1 breakfast show in Sydney for the first time, with the ARN show breaking its own record share, set survey 3, to hit a victorious15.5% share (up 2.6 percentage points)
ARN national content director, Duncan Campbell
KISS FM’s 106.5 breakfast show duo dethroned Nine’s 2GB, after the network’s 17-year-run at #1 at breakfast, with the duo surpassing the program now hosted by Ben Fordham, who took over from Alan Jones last year, by 2.2 percentage points.
ARN’s national content director, Duncan Campbell tells Mumbrella of the win: “It’s a historical moment in Australian radio really. It’s been 20 years chasing the AM breakfast shows and finally today they’ve beaten Ben Fordham, and it’s a big deal. It’s a highlight for us and another goal is the continued dominance of ARN’s #1 network.”
Campbell says it’s the radio duo’s chemistry and their habitual listeners they have created, that’s carved their success in the industry.
“Kyle and Jackie O really have amazing chemistry, they’ve got longevity and have been in this market for a long time now, 20 years. They’ve been #1 on FM’s breakfast radio for so long, that they’ve got such a loyal listener base and as a result of that they’ve created this habitual listening pattern, and that’s really powerful,” Campbell says.
ARN CEO Ciaran Davis weighs in too: “Kyle & Jackie O are the best in the world at what they do and seeing them secure the overall #1 breakfast title in Sydney is testament to that and fully deserved.
“They understand their audience and this result is a reflection of their dedication to keeping the content fresh and delivering it in their own unique way. It’s a show that never fails to surprise and ARN applauds Kyle, Jackie and our entire team behind the scenes on this historical moment for Sydney radio.”
In Sydney, KIIS 106.5’s Kyle & Jackie O
Meanwhile, as Melbourne endured another long circuit-breaker lockdown, Campbell says he wasn’t surprised by 101.1 FM’s decline in results with hosts PJ and Jase at the helm, as it dropped by 0.9 points and hit a 5.5% share, explaining he didn’t feel the pandemic was the reason for its low numbers.
“Melbourne’s ratings turned out exactly how we predicted. They’re struggling a bit down there, hence why we are changing that show, and there will be a launch for the new one in less than a month. It’s quite a dynamic marketplace at the moment.
“I think radio really felt the effects of COVID-19 last year. These recent lockdowns weren’t severe enough to really impact the results. If we are going to see any results affected by the most recent lockdowns, we’ll see that next survey. 3AW and 2GB have come back to more ‘normal’ listening. I think there will be a bit of COVID-19 fatigue amongst the audience and unless something major or significant happens, I think lockdowns today are more of an inconvenience rather than anything else.”
KIIS 101.1 Breakfast’s Jase (left) & PJ (right)
Campbell adds that 3AW Melbourne has been consistent as it remained at #1 with its share of 16.3%, mirroring last month’s results.
He also congratulated Nova’s overall national results, as they were “positive numbers all-round,” while he believes new shows overall are struggling to compete against the heritage shows.
“Nova in Perth is a big heritage breakfast show over there and has been dominant for quite a while, so it’s not surprising to see their great results in survey four. Nova also had a strong result in Brisbane breakfast radio today too. They’ve been consistent for a while as well. The new shows are struggling, they’re just trying to find a foot hole against these strong heritage shows which have got strong habitual listeners. This included KIIS FM’s 101.1 unfortunately.
“Looking at the markets holistically, you can see a softening of SCA over the last 6 to 12 months. Fairly consistent Nova results which is good. I think it really just comes down to content. The most successful stations that have the best shows, have the best content, and it really does come down to the talent too.
“But, overall a very strong result for ARN in survey four and we couldn’t be happier,” Campbell concludes.
