News

DMG’s Classic Rock gamble sees small win in breakfast, while it’s good news for Nova’s new breakfast team

DMG Radio’s move to axe its weak-rating Vega stations and relaunch them as Classic Rock has delivered small wins in the competitive breakfast slots, despite seeing dips in overall ratings.

Meanwhile, Nova Sydney’s new breakfast team Merrick Watts, Ricki-Lee Coulter and Scott Dooley, have made inroads in the second ratings survey, following a fall earlier this year.  

Sydney

DMG’s Classic Rock station in Sydney saw a rise from 2.1 per cent in the last survey to 2.8 per cent in the breakfast slot hosted by Anthony Maroon.

Overall however, in listening between 5:30am to midnight, the station’s share fell 3.4 per cent to 3.2 per cent, according to the latest Nielsen radio ratings results.

DMG launched the new Sydney and Melbourne stations on March 12 and now features mostly classic rock music.

With the results of the current survey period spanning January 31 to March 20, the fourth survey of the year will provide a clearer indication of whether DMG’s gamble has paid off.

In other results, its younger-skewed Nova Sydney station saw its new breakfast team enjoy a ratings rise from 6.5 per cent in the last survey to 7.6 percent.

However, Austereo’s 2Day FM remains the commanding leader, with 12.2 per cent.

Among the talk stations, Macquarie Radio’s leading 2GB saw an overall fall in listeners from 15.7 per cent in the last survey to 14.7 per cent. Veteran breakfast presenter Alan Jones also fell from his high of 20 per cent in the last survey to 17.2 per cent – although he remains in the lead, followed by ABC 702 with 12.4 per cent.

Melbourne

In similar results to its sister Sydney station, Classic Rock Melbourne breakfast hosts Dicko and Dave saw an increase in share from 2.6 per cent in the last survey to 2.8 per cent. But in overall listening, share fell from 3.7 per cent to 3.4 per cent.

Austereo’s Triple M breakfast lineup, led by Eddie McGuire, suffered a slight fall from 5.8 per cent in the last survey to 5.5 per cent. In overall listeners, it saw a slight dip from 5.5 per cent in the last survey to 5.4 per cent.

Among the music stations, Austereo’s Fox FM continued to increase its lead in the second survey of the year, up from 13.2 per cent to 13.6 per cent.

However, it dropped from 47.9 per cent to 40.1 per cent among 10-17 year old listeners.

In contrast, Nova saw gains in every demographic and every time slot.

Leading talk station, Fairfax Media’s 3AW saw an overall increase, despite a a drop from 19 per cent in the last survey to 17.6 per cent during breakfast.

Brisbane

The contest remained tight between Austereo’s B105 and DMG’s Nova, though the former maintained its lead in overall share and in the breakfast slot.

Overall, B105 saw listeners rise from 12.8 per cent in the last survey to 13 per cent; while Nova also rose from 12.2 per cent to 12.5 per cent.

While B105 led among 10-17 year old listeners, Nova dominated among 18-24s with a 30.6 per cent share compared to the Austereo’s station’s 20.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, the ABC remained strong among the talk stations with an overall 10.1 per cent share, compared to its nearest commercial rival, Fairfax’s 4BC with 6.9 per cent.

Adelaide

DMG’s talk station 5AA, the overall leader in the Adelaide market, saw a slight fall in overall ratings and in breakfast. It also fell slightly among 40-54s, 55 plus and grocery buyers.

Among the music stations Austereo’s SAFM remained ahead of Nova in overall listeners. However, Nova was ahead among 18-24s, after rising 19.8 per cent in the last survey to 26.6 per cent.

Perth

Austereo’s older music station Mix 94.5 maintained its overall leadership position among the music stations despite a slight fall from 16 per cent in the last survey to 15.8 per cent.

Among the younger music stations, Austereo’s 92.9 remained ahead, though rival Nova saw a bigger increase in breakfast.

Nova also saw a bigger rise among 10-17s, up from 20.6 per cent in the last survey to 23.8 per cent. It also rose from 13.9 per cent to 18.5 per cent among 25-39s. However, among 18-24 year olds it fell from 18.9 per cent to 14.5 per cent.

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.