Radio ratings: Sydney – 2UE becomes least listened to commercial station as smoothfm continues its march
Fairfax Radio Network’s troubled talk station 2UE has become the lowest rating commercial station in Sydney, new numbers released today by Nielsen show.
Monday to Friday share | Source: Nielsen
The network’s Monday to Friday share slipped to 3.8 per cent of the available audience, putting it just behind Macquarie Radio Network’s easy listening station 2CH which averaged 3.9 per cent.
The only stations in Sydney to fare worse the 2UE were from the ABC including Radio National and ABC News Radio.
Meanwhile, the growth of DMG’s new easy listening station smoothfm has continued, with the channel moving up to a 7.4 per cent share. Smoothfm’s growth came on the back of strong growth in every time slot except for Bogart Torelli’s More Music Breakfast Show where it had a 4.7 per cent share. In drive, smoothfm’s Byron Webb has a 9.2 share, and the station had a 9.5 per cent in the 7pm to midnight slot, a jump of 2.6 share points.
A delighted Paul Jackson, DMG’s group programming director, told Mumbrella: “We are unstoppable now. We have real momentum. We always believed we could be a number one brand, and that we could do it in three years. We are half way there.”
Southern Cross Austereo’s 2Day FM remained the top FM station with a share of 9.9 per cent, up from 8.5 per cent.
DMG’s Nova remained in second place with an 8.0 per cent share, just ahead of stablemate smoothfm.
Fourth in the FM battle was ARN’s WSFM, which rated 6.1 per cent, just ahead of ARN’s Mix106.5 which averaged 5.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, the biggest station in Sydney remains MRN’s AM talk station 2GB, which averaged 13.2 per cent.
And with just one more ratings release before the end of the year, the Kyle & Jackie O Show appears set to bow out as the top FM breakfast show. The duo saw their share rise from 9.9 per cent to 11.2 per cent, the biggest increase in the timeslot. On Friday the duo announced they were leaving 2Day FM with ARN revealing over the weekend that it is in talks to sign them.
Next came Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa show, which saw share slip slightly from 7.3 per cent to 7.1 per cent.
Jackson said that the upheavals around Kyle & Jackie O presented an opportunity for Nova and smoothfm. He said: “The Sydney market place is about to have the earthquake we’ve been looking for.”
WSFM’s Jonesy & Amanda fell from 6.7 per cent to 6.3 per cent. And Mix’s Yumi Stynes and Sami Lukis – the most likely to lose their berth to Kyle & Jackie O – increased their share slightly from 4.0 to 4.2 per cent in the latest ratings book.
ARN’s group programming director Duncan Campbell told Mumbrella that the numbers for both WSFM and Mix had been something of a disappointment. He said: “We are still very confident in the WS format. it’s recovering from a couple of wobbly books and the reality is, it is being challenged by smooth. Smoooth is positioning itself almost as an oldies station.”
Reiterating his support for the Jonesy & Amanda show, Campbell said: “The reality is next to Kyle and Jaxckie O, they are the only heritage breakfast show in Sydney and we are very muchy committed to them.”
On the Stynes and Lukis Mix show, Campbell said: “4.2 is not where we would want to see that show.”
In the AM breakfast battle, 2GB’s Alan Jones remains top with a 16.2 per cent share. ABC702’s Adam Spencer, who leaves at the end of the year, fell slightly to a 10.9 per cent share. 2UE’s Ian Dickson & Sarah Morice delivered a share of just 3.5 per cent.
In drivetime, the Fifi & Jules show returned to top slot for 2Day FM, with a share of 9.8 per cent, up from 9.2 per cent. This was just ahead of Nova’s Meshel, Tim & Marty which rated 9.3 per cent, down from its timeslot winning 9.4 per cent last time.
The ratings cover August through to the end of October.
Monday to Sunday share:
Monday to Sunday share | Source: Nielsen
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2UE loses Paul Murray and Jason Morrison —the only two worth tuning into.
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All of 2UEs 6am – 7pm weekday shifts have a ratings share that starts with a 3. Nights with Clive Robertson starts with a 6 and weekends rate 7.8% Weekends are ahead of 702 and only 0.7% behind 2GB.
2UE is floundering but only Monday – Friday 6am – 7pm.
If I was in sales I could sell 2UE night and weekend airtime without much trouble.
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2UE will dive without Paul Murray
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Feel sorry for announcers being destroyed by tragic managerial decisions.
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Just watch – 2UE management are so determined to shoot themselves in both feet, next thing you know they’ll decide that George Moore and Paul B Kidd are redundant and they’ll replace them with a Gardening and sports show – more “me too” programming, just like everyone else.
OK, maybe I do have my tongue firmly in my cheek but they’ve made some much more stupid decisions – letting Paul Murray and Jason Morrison go being two clangers.
Whoever thought that the Pommy and the Chicky Babe would work? Not the listeners, that’s for sure.
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Surely 2UE hasn’t dipped below 2SM…
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I do the 8 to 12 midnight show on 2ue.. It scored 10% in the survey..Most of this year Its been No 2 overall. In my 27 years on Sydney Radio Ive always been at or above the station average. Be it 2Ch or wsfm ( ive worked both , ) I just get a bit tired of all this hate for 2UE, The staff there work their guts out and deserve better ratings.AND in most other markets would be more successful. Every doggie has its day…
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Hi D,
2SM isn’t included in the survey.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
I have listened to 2UE all my life and unfortunatelly it has been on a steep decline ever since Jones then Laws left. Now to lose Morrison & Murray not to mention punting one of the 2 murray’s and letting the other go without oo much of a fight. Faifax radio looks headed in the same direction as their papers!
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Well done Blue (Pete). Keep on keeping your end up – it’s a bugger of an industry at times, but you are a proven winner over many years.
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There aren’t really any “bad” announcers on 2UE, it’s just that when taken as a whole they do not present a consistent story for a listener, as 2GB does, for instance. And when a station gets the smell of death, leisteners tend to stay away.
Paul Murray used to be good in Drive until he was told to lighten up on the politics. That didn’t work, ten he moved to Mornings and was either told or decided to become more conservative and desk-thumping, a la Hadley. Listeners can see through this kind of fakery.
The stations’s biggest assets now are John Stanley and George & Paul. I just hope management doesn’t interpret that to mean that George & Paul should be moved to a weekday slot, which would be a grave mistake IMHO.
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If 2UE is the station that caved in to a “higher authority” when Michael Smith wanted to provide the public with important pre-police investigation news and an interview with Mr Kernohan on the AWU-WRA fraud, no wonder their ratings are so bad.
Having looked at the quality of the forensic journalism found on his website, if Michael Smith decided to apply for a broadcasting licence, I suspect he would out-rate any radio station across the entire country.
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2UE – #1 at 0!
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I followed Jason from 2GB and love his show, 2UE have lost their only 2 hopefuls Jason and Paul Murray….now I defiantly won’t listen to 2ue
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