The exit earlier this week of Southern Cross Austereo’s (SCA) Chief Content Officer Dave Cameron has left radio industry talking.
Since the announcement, there’s been radio silence from the broadcaster, a move former content director Irene Hulme told Mediaweek she found “really strange”.
On the most recent Game Changers podcast, Hulme’s co-host, programmer and Cameron’s former boss, Craig Bruce added: “You do not leave this role without being gently pushed. It just doesn’t happen.”
So, what did happen?
Cameron’s career
Dave Cameron (DC) stepped into the Chief Content Officer role in 2020. For those not across what that actually entails, Hulme gave Mediaweek the rundown: “He works with the broader national executive team and determines the strategy for that network. That includes everything from positioning to music, talent, tactics, and marketing, all of which fall under his leadership.”
In short, Cameron was the captain.
Dave Cameron with Hamish & Andy
Ratings and rebrands
Back in March, SCA hosted a glitzy event at the Sydney Opera House, inviting media and advertisers to witness the unveiling of a “new look” for 2DayFM, the network’s embattled Sydney station. Against the backdrop of the Harbour Bridge, Cameron revealed its new branding: 2DayFM. Today AF.
The station promised to play “the hits, before they hit”, focusing on fresh music and elevating emerging Australian artists alongside global acts. Cameron said the aim was to break free from the predictable and offer Sydney listeners something different.
Leading the charge was the station’s new breakfast show: The Jimmy & Nath Show with Emma. Emma, of course, being Emma Chow, a late addition to the already established duo.
Just under six months later, and according to the last three 2025 surveys, the rebrand hasn’t landed the way SCA had hoped.
New shows, like The Jimmy & Nath Show with Emma, showed marginal signs of progress, posting a 3.9% Breakfast share, up 0.5 points, with cume growing by 8,000 to 310,000.
But much of the network’s lineup is still rebuilding following several programming changes.
Triple M Sydney also faced challenges last survey, with its overall share dropping to 4.9% from 6.4%, and a decrease of 41,000 in cumulative audience, bringing it to 732,000 listeners.
The station’s Breakfast offering of Beau, Cat & Woodsy recorded a 4.4% share, down from 5.9%.
Despite the stall, Cameron remained committed. In post-survey interviews with Mediaweek, he reiterated the same message: “We’re building new shows, and that takes time,” said Cameron. “But we’re seeing green shoots, and we’re pretty happy”.
Hulme doesn’t believe the 2DayFM results were enough to warrant showing Cameron the door.
“It just feels way too soon,” she told Mediaweek.
“If it was 12 months down the line and 2Day was working, then you could argue, well, the job here’s done. But that’s not the case. The rebrand has only just begun and they need DC’s guidance. He’s got a broad set of skills from coaching talent to, you know, to music strategy,” she said.
Meanwhile, in Melbourne, the station’s sibling breakfast show Fifi, Fev & Nick continues to grow, lifting its share to 8.9%, up 0.6 points. But those strong breakfast results didn’t fully translate to the station’s overall share, which landed at 8.2% (down from 8.4%).
Jimmy & Nath with Emma
The M’s
With 2DayFM no longer ratings dominant, Triple M has had to carry more of the load.
And to some degree, it has. In Survey 2, Triple M Sydney recorded its best result in several years with a 6.4% share. But by Survey 3, that number dipped to 4.9%, with the station losing 41,000 listeners, bringing its cumulative audience to 732,000.
Breakfast on Triple M Sydney (Beau, Cat & Woodsy) also slipped, down to 4.4% from 5.9%.
In Melbourne, Triple M held steady with a 6.9% overall share and a consistent audience of 778,000. But breakfast show, Mick in the Morning with Roo, Titus & Rosie, fell from 7.3% to 5.9%.
There was better news for Drive, with The Rush Hour with JB & Billy posting a 10.6% share, its best Drive result since Survey 4 in 2006. Still, two underperforming breakfast shows across the two key networks is far from ideal.
Hulme said Cameron’s departure couldn’t come at a worse time.
“He’s not leaving the network in a good, stable position,” she explained.
“He’s got those two new Breakfast shows in Sydney. The team under him is either not experienced enough, or in some cases, there’s not even a team under him in some markets.”
Despite lacklustre results, the network has held onto the crucial 25–54 demographic, which brings in 80% of its ad revenue. But Bruce is sceptical of the way the success has been framed.
Jumped?
Did Cameron walk or was he pushed? For Hulme it’s all a mystery.
With those new Sydney breakfast shows just launched, Hulme said she struggled to see how Cameron would “feel comfortable about leaving his team”.
“I just don’t see him leaving them in the lurch like that,” she said.
“Dave is an incredibly passionate programmer. He’s someone who cares deeply about his team, and he’s made some significant changes across the network, so it makes no sense that he would leave now, when it’s only just begun.
“Dave loves his team so much that he would want to be there to provide the guidance that they need to get to where they need to get to and become successful.”
SCA’s John Kelly
Public spat?
In March, Mediaweek asked SCA CEO John Kelly if he’d consider poaching GOLD’s Jonesy & Amanda, who are off-contract at ARN at the end of 2026.
His answer? “They should be on our network.” Kelly added the pair “should be at Triple M” and said “We’d love to have them.”
But in June, when Mediaweek asked Cameron about those comments, he firmly shut it down.
Any rumour of a Jonesy & Amanda jump, he said, was “categorically incorrect”.
“We are focused on bringing new faces and new voices through to re-energise the industry,” he said. “We’ve had multiple competitor shows reaching out to us but we have our own strong plans in place.”
Bruce singled out the public difference of opinion on the podcast, calling it “weird”,
LiSTNR focus?
SCA’s digital business, LiSTNR, remains a central pillar of its future strategy, and Cameron has said it accounts for “60% to 70% of our total product”.
“We’re well aware that you can get podcasts here, there, and everywhere,” he said. “But LiSTNR is the exclusive platform for the live streaming of all of our radio stations, you can’t stream them anywhere else. Our broadcast shows are the nucleus for uptake.”
Earlier this year, SCA renewed its exclusive podcast deal with Hamish & Andy, one of the country’s most downloaded shows, a major win for both audience and advertiser retention.
Still, Bruce questioned whether Cameron had given digital enough focus.
“And we all know how important LiSTNR is to SCA,” he said. “So a couple of other suggestions. Does SCA have a buyer who just wants the radio assets? SCA keeps LiSTNR so that role and whatever structure is moving forward is obsolete.”
Hulme, however, doesn’t believe a focus on digital means neglecting the broadcast side.
“They are, but they need the linear… or they need the broadcast side of the business to do well. It’s never going to be the second place.”