A good old-fashioned pearl-clutching moment is hard to come by these days, but for Nine Radio, last survey delivered exactly that.
Melbourne’s 3AW – long billed as the city’s voice – was knocked from its perch by GOLD104.3 – which surged to number one for the first time since 1992.
3AW back on top
This time around, things look far more familiar.
3AW has stormed back to the top in Survey 5 with a 13.5% share, up 1.6 points from its stumble to 11.9%.
GOLD, meanwhile, slid to 11.2%.
Nine’s National Content Manager Greg Byrnes was bullish about the rebound: “The powerhouse, 1.6 up overall, TSL up, 40 plus up,” he told Mediaweek.
When pressed on the reason behind last survey’s dip, he was typically philosophical: “That’s just the nature of surveys and the waves. What’s impressive today is that it normally takes maybe two surveys for a result like that to wash through. We’re on the up, that’s not a guarantee, but that’s a good position heading into survey six.”
2GB struggles in Sydney
In Sydney, the story is less rosy.
2GB dropped another 0.2% to 11.4%, with Ben Fordham down half a point in breakfast and Mark Levy struggling in mornings, slipping 1.5% to 11.5% behind Smooth’s Ty Frost on 13.8%.
Byrnes again was practical in his analysis: “That’s the methodology, and that’s what we’re all working with. It can be frustrating. They can be the highest of highs, and you can come off those pretty quickly, and that’s why averages are important. And that’s just the methodology.”
He also pointed to football as a critical driver of Nine’s strength: “Big games, afternoons, strong weekends, overnights, football. We put a lot of resources and a lot of time into it because we know they’re important fabrics to our markets.”
Speculation and AI
On speculation about Nine snapping up SCA talk stations, Byrnes waved it off: “Other than that we’re a high-profile media asset, so there was always speculation around our talk stations.”
But he did reveal the network is actively testing AI in production. “We’re exploring how AI can assist… but the key for us is starts with a human, ends with a human. Trust and authenticity are so important for our form of content. There is a role to play, no doubt, and that’s what we’re exploring at the moment.”
Main image: Greg Byrnes