Radio ratings: Adelaide – Nova claws back ground after sharp rise in younger demographic
Adelaide Mon-Sun share | Source: GfK (click to enlarge)
Nova91.9 has clawed back ground on FM market leader Mix102.3 in Adelaide as the station’s morning and drive time shows saw solid growth while the number of younger listeners soared.
Australian Radio Network’s Mix102.3 slipped 0.7 points to 15.2 in the 12 weeks from June 13 to September 20, which follows two consecutive falls of 0.4 points, while Nova climbed 1.4 points to 11.8 per cent.
Nova fared particularly well in the drivetime slot where a big swing saw its national program with Kate, Tim and Marty overhaul Mix’s Driving You Home with Sean Craig Murphy. Mix’s audience slipped 1.4 points to 14.2 per cent, falling behind Nova’s share of 15.5 per cent which saw a sharp increase of 2.9 points.
In the breakfast slot, Mix and Nova climbed 0.3 and 0.4 points respectively which took their shares to 15.4 per cent and 10.2 per cent. Southern Cross Austereo’s outgoing breakfast duo on SAFM Michael Beveridge and Hayley Pearson, grew their audience by 0.8 to 7.5, with the show wrapping up in October.
Adelaide Monday to Friday share | Source: GfK
Nova opened up a huge lead in the 18-24 demographic with its share rising 8.6 points to 29.2. In Survey 5, Nova led Mix in the age category by only 0.5 points but is now more than 15 points ahead of its competitor which captured just 14.1 per cent, a sharp decline of almost 6 points.
The fall allowed SAFM to leapfrog Mix to become the second most popular station for the younger listeners with its share rising 2.9 points to 20.4 per cent. SAFM’s overall share rose to 8.5 per cent from 8 per cent while Triple J dipped 0.9 points to 6.2 per cent.
TripleM remained the city’s third most popular FM station with a share of 9.1, down marginally from 9.2.
In the AM market, ABC891 regained its crown as the most listened to station having been knocked off its perch in the previous survey by Fiveaa. While Fivaaa lost 0.3 points to take an 11.1 share, ABC jumped 1.3 points to capture 12.2 per cent. It also comfortably won the breakfast slot with a share of almost 16 per cent against the 12.2 per cent of Fiveaa.
Duncan Campbell, ARN’s national content director, said a recent marketing campaign around the country by rivals Nova had paid dividends, adding they had had a “softer” start to the ratings year than he expected.
Nova Entertainment group program director Paul Jackson said the group had been consistent in its marketing adding he was “delighted” with the Nova stations across the board, adding they were not anticipating making any changes to their shows for next year as they look to build on consistency.
On the rise in the younger demo he said that is where the station has “traditionally been” in the city, and could not account for the fluctuation.
Steve Jones
