With the radio ratings survey coming to an end for 2022, Mediaweek has caught up with some of the top content bosses in the industry to discuss their results.
Today, Mediaweek speaks to ARN’s chief content officer Duncan Campbell about the highlights of 2022 and what the gameplan is for 2023.
When asked how he was feeling about the year looking back, Campbell says that 2022 has been ARN’s “best year ever,” after reclaiming the number one position in both 10+ and 25-54 shares.
“Prior to this year, we only managed to claim number one 25-54 I think twice in 10 years, so to end the year as number one in that demographic is great for our commercial colleagues. It shows that we’re targeting our audiences well, which is good, and is a continuation of those strong numbers for advertisers.”
The year hasn’t come without its hurdles to jump, with the selling of Brisbane’s 4KQ to SEN in the middle of the year due to ARN’s acquisition of Grant Broadcasters.
“We lost 4KQ this year, so we thought we’d struggle with the number one network position, but we’ve managed to get that back,” says Campbell. “We’ve been number one five times out of the eight surveys this year, so that puts us officially as number one network in the country for 2022 – which is great news.
“We don’t often crow enough about it, but I think we’ve never been in better shape. We’ve got some great results in key markets, and my view is that we have the best radio business in the country. We’re seeing that commercial share grow off the back of those consistent results that come through.”
It’s not just the radio arms of the business that have been successful this year either, with podcasting holding its own.
“We’re growing podcasting, which is up 19% year on year in terms of downloads, and our podcast-to-broadcast strategy is paying dividends for us with audiences and revenue growth.”
The major headline for ARN this year came from survey 7, where KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O managed to snatch the title of Sydney’s top Breakfast overall from 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
That wasn’t the only highlight of the year for Campbell, who spotlights success in both Sydney and Melbourne as particular points of pride for the business.
“Kyle and Jackie O have been inducted in the Hall of Fame, they’ve almost had their highest ever cume this survey of 817,000, and it’s the most listened to breakfast show in the country. They’ve probably had their best year ever, and it’s great that their best year ever was at ARN rather than their former network. They continue to go from strength to strength.
“The other one would be Gold 104.3. As a station, it’s a powerhouse – Christian O’Connell has got his 21st consecutive number one FM, and it’s the station’s 24th survey as number one FM. Accolades go to Christian, but also the content director Sue Carter and music director Jason Staveley are really key parts of that station’s success. It’s the biggest station in the country for us, so it’s a fantastic result.”
Kyle & Jackie O
When considering the reason behind the success of ARN, Campbell says that “we’ve always been very consistent, and I think that’s the greatest strength of this network.” That consistency will continue into 2023, with the gameplan being to continue delivering what audiences know and love.
“There are no big announcements in terms of talent changes. Someone once said that success is the sum of all those small efforts, repeated day in day out. That’s consistency, and we pride ourselves on that. We evolve with the times, and we do some great content on the air. We’ll continue to do that next year.
“We research our music and our audiences I think better than anyone else does. We’ve got a great team of people, not just in content, but across the whole business – which positions us really well for 2023.”
ARN audiences can also expect that consistency to extend into podcasting and digital.
“Strategically, we want to continue the podcast-to-broadcast relationship. A lot of podcasts are looking for radio shows, and I think it’s incumbent upon us to try and grow podcasting as quickly as we can. There’s huge growth potential there – two thirds of Australians download a podcast every month.
“With iHeartRadio, our focus is on maintaining the strength of the broadcast network, growing podcasting, and really utilising iHeartRadio as the umbrella brand for all of our content.”
2022 hasn’t been all smooth sailing, and some of the economic headwinds faced this year are going to continue into 2023. Despite this, Campbell reflects on the state of the industry by saying that it “is probably in the strongest position it’s been in.”
“Audio has been a centre of focus for people – podcasting has helped that, as well as streaming. Audio is no longer the poor cousin of visual, people are consuming more audio these days than they ever have. Radio is in good shape.
“Yes, we have some stresses in the younger end, but it makes sense given the competition for ears. But we’re growing our audiences – as people find that with the time pressure of life, there’s a nice curated playlist with some news information and some ads, etc. That suits them, and radio is very convenient.
“I’d say audio is in a tremendous place, and well-placed for when we do shake off the economic concerns of 2023.”