Radio Ratings challenges & triumph: Nova Entertainment’s Paul Jackson

Brisbane Radio Ratings Kip Wightman

“This is the first time we have ever had all those stations ranking so well”

Nova Entertainment was able to claim four out of five metro markets this week in cume and share. (#1 FM share in Sydney.) The surprise Survey 7 result in Adelaide was one of those markets, with Nova knocking off Mix 102.3.

Comparing rival networks can be confusing. Like ARN, Nova is claiming to be #1 network in share, and cume.

Nova Entertainment’s chief programming and marketing officer Paul Jackson told Mediaweek: “This is the first time we have ever had all those stations ranking so well, making this one of Nova Entertainment’s best books ever. We win every single demo nationally. If smoothfm Sydney wins one more book it will make it eight surveys in a row this year which is astonishing. Nova Sydney has also had the #1 cume for a year.

“In Brisbane is has been very tight this year, particularly this survey, but Nova has won seven in a row. In Perth we have won four in a row, something we haven’t been able to do historically against Mix.

These are heady days for Nova overall.

“In Adelaide Nova has been on the increase nearly all year and it is a great result to win both share and cume. It’s a great result for the Nova brand and hopefully it can hang on through survey eight to give [new breakfast announcers from Triple J] Ben and Liam a great start in the new year.”

Jackson said Nova is well positioned for next year with Adelaide the only line-up change across both radio brands.

“We have a lot of very strong shows with no weak links. We have #1 cume and share in Sydney (FM), Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth and we hope to maintain that performance into the first quarter of next year.

We will keep taking a closer look at Melbourne because that is the most intense and exciting of the marketplaces.

If Jackson has a wishlist, it might be for a better performance in Sydney and Melbourne mornings where Nova has brought in experienced announcers Kent Small and Matt Tilley.

“There is now so much choice. With Nova it is understandable that after breakfast some people will choose to go to Spotify or other places. In a more fragmented world our offering needs to be very sharp.”

smoothfm continues to dominate the FM music breakfast space, something that SCA has so far been unsuccessful breaking into with its new 2Day FM music breakfast. “There is only one feel-good station in Sydney and that is smoothfm. The audience believes in it and trusts it and it has been #1 for over a year. To try and mirror that and to play a lot of similar songs is difficult. A station needs to find its own lane and do something different, which we found with smoothfm after we started.”

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