Radio Ratings
BY Staff Writer March 14, 2024
Radio Ratings April 14, 2021
Hit 104.7 takes significant hit and tumbles from top spot in Canberra’s radio ratings
Hit 104.7 has lost its place at the top of Canberra’s radio ratings, according to new figures released today.
In the only Canberra survey conducted last year, the Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and Australian Radio Network (ARN) joint venture had a market-leading 20% share. Its Breakfast show was also on top with an 18.9% share, as was Drive (22.7%) and the Weekend block (18.1%).
This survey, however, it lost 9.0 share points overall, taking it to an 11.0% share and giving Canberra a new #1 station.
Mix 106.3 (also a JV between ARN and SCA, but branded similar to KIIS stations) climbed 0.8 points, taking it to a 17.6% share – the highest in the nation’s capital.
In Breakfast, Hit fell 9.4 points from 18.9% to a 9.5% share. This put Ned Breward and Josh Torney (Ned & Josh) in fourth position.
Ahead of Hit’s Breakfast show was Mix 106.3’s Kristen Davidson and Nigel Johnson (Kristen & Nige) on 15%, Radio National’s Fran Kelly on 17.0% and ABC Canberra’s Lish Fejer on 18.7% (up 3.9 points).
Mix was in the lead in Drive, jumping 1.3 points to 19.3% for its program with Neil ‘Wilko’ Wilcock and Courtney Kneen (Wilko & Courts). The Hit Network, meanwhile, syndicates Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little (Carrie & Tommy) in the timeslot, with its share falling 10.8 points from 22.7% last survey to 11.9%.
Weekends on Canberra radio have also had increased media scrutiny of late, due to former Weekend Breakfast co-host Bryce Ruthven appearing on Channel 9’s ratings behemoth Married At First Sight.
Ruthven’s behaviour on the TV program has been the subject of much scrutiny and criticism, and his former co-host Jason Roses has since revealed the duo are no longer friends, despite him appearing on the program as one of Ruthven’s closest confidants.
Ruthven said he resigned from his Weekend gig alongside Roses and Ellie Angel-Mobbs to be in Melbourne with his partner, Melissa, whom he met on the show.
Ruthven made a brief appearance on Hit earlier this year, however during the survey period he was absent due to MAFS commitments, and he subsequently resigned.
The GfK ratings don’t break down the individual performance of Weekend programs, however across Saturday and Sunday, Hit fell 7.7 points – less significant than the hits it took in all other day parts – to 10.4%. The Weekend leader is Mix, up 0.1 points to a 16.5% share.
In other movements, Canberra’s Forever Classic 2CA climbed 2.7 points to an 8.6% share.
The station’s general manager, Michael Jones, said everyone at the station has worked hard for the result.
“It comes from consistently good music that everyone loves, a great on-air team and Canberra’s best contests that have gathered a massive following like ‘Captain Cash’ and the new ‘$50,000 Four Letter Word’,” he said.
SCA has been approached for comment about Hit’s decline.
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Ouch! I know, with such little competition in Canberra, swings like this can be pretty big, but this is a massive drop for Hit104.7. I hope the team are doing okay after today’s news. I’m sure the morale will be pretty low. So what will SCA (who programme the station) do?
ARN should rebrand all MIX stations to Kiis except for Perth. 96FM should have come under their Gold (Retro) brand. ARN need to acquire another station in the West.
The Hit brand sounds like radio from the 90s. Never going to work against the competition in Canberra.
104.7 looks like a nice frequency
It’s almost like there was national coverage of the hit 104.7 brand being associated with one MAFS star that the country universally hated.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ouch @ 2CC. What’s going on there? I know Canberra is an ABC town but still. Well done 2CA. Hopefully DAB+ is giving them a bit of a boost.
@aussiecam58 why? The KIIS brand is a 1970s Los Angeles brand that only has any relevance in Sydney because of Kyle and Jackie O. Everywhere else it’s meaningless. I think 97.3, Mix 102.3 and 96FM should all join the Pure Gold brand. 4KQ and Cruise can be the true Classic Hits stations they are. 97.3, Mix 102.3 and 96FM have more in common with Pure Gold than KIIS.
At first I was like “Wow, how could this even happen to a Hit station”.
Then I jumped on and had a look at their playlist.
Got it.
Is “Ned and Josh” a good show?
Don’t hear much about them.
Hey @DJ Otzi,
Wow you sound super smart.
I’ll be in contact (not via usual communication methods).
Need you with help about the future. Urgent.
E
Horrid result for FM 104.7 so who’s on after 10 am theres nothing on their web site
Is Hit playing the same bizzare mix of songs that 2Day play?
One minute a current rap/dance hit, then a Bruce Sprinsteen track like Dancing In The Dark that’s almost 40 years old.
@Anonymous
A MAFS star that wasn’t on air on Hit 104.7 from September 2020, and the survey started in February 2021?
Makes sense.
Also, not everyone watches reality TV, especially in a corporate, government driven city.
The amount of SCA defenders is crazy. Anyone with ears can tell the music product for Hit is a shambles and so scattershot. Jumping between eras is not variety. It is jolting.
Execs need to take some blame for this.
Hit need more females on air, simple.
As another Annabelle, and female, who used to Work in Canberra, I disagree wholeheartedly. Hit Canberra have fabulous female talent, and more than so many other markets
@Annabelle – Hit’s workday announcer is female (Gemma) and judging by the website, she pulls a 5 hour shift (from 10am til 3pm).
You’re not Annabelle Brett by any chance (also on air at 104.7)?
Even though Mix106.3 is technically considered part of the Triple M network, it’s really not. There’s too much crossover between 106 and 104. Both stations need a revamp – stat!
Make one a male focused rock station and make the other a female skewed hit music station. Look at what 92.9 and 94.5 in Perth have done.
Drove through Canberra a few months ago and listened to Ned&josh show. Funny and witty, I think they’re really great and should be moved into a bigger drive slot. Much better than the kiis blokes
@Dan, my comment is the one below. I wrote it because I wanted to clear up the confusion and I totally disagree with the first Annabelle.
I’m not on air anymore at hit104.7, but I do think that station and that office overall have plenty of female talent and the comment is misinformed. Ellie Angel is also on Hit on weekend breakky, and is a powerhouse. She does regular specials on Endometriosis and other local events.
@Dan (14 Apr 2021 – 6:54 pm) – completely agree. Now that the Hit Network has morphed into a more AC format, there’s too much similarity between 104.7 and 106.3.
Unlike Perth though, SCA don’t have full control of both Canberra stations to do a network switch. Either SCA are happy to lose Carrie & Tommy and rebrand 104.7 to Triple M for Molloy and best bits of Sheargold, or ARN agrees to lose its KIIS affiliation of Mix (bearing in mind that Mix Canberra doesn’t network anything from ARN anyway).
Hit 1047 unfortunately has been treated as a regional radio station for too long and it’s starting to show.
The breakfast show are two young guys who are talented but not the right fit for a station clearly aimed at a much older audience – there’s no way the two of them can relate to a 40 year old mum.
Workday is a mess – music all over the place and again, not the announcers fault, but she just sounds way too young for that music format.
Unfortunately this drop has been a long time coming – big changes needed or it will stay that way.
@Canberra Bubble – I remember when FM104.7 was fully owned by Austereo. They only owned a handful of stations at the time, but it was considered important and programmed as such.
It’s such a pipeline for talent, but most tend to get wasted there. SCA needs to understand the importance of stations like Canberra, Hobart, Newcastle, Gold Coast and (to a lesser extent) Bunbury. They have zero talent pipeline because they got rid of all the regional breakfast shows. But perhaps if they spent some time on stations like Canberra, they wouldn’t be in such a mess.
And I absolutely agree about the current talent sounding too young. The number of times I’ve heard them mispronounce 90’s and 00’s artists is ridiculous.
@PJC – in that case, I would keep 106.3 with the KIIS branding, but take on the Hit Network format (Carrie & Tommy, etc). At least the KIIS format and the Hit format are similar. They could even tweak the colours of the MIX logo to be the teal and dark blue of the Hit Network.
And then move 104.7 to Triple M.
@Canberra Bubble – I remember when FM104.7 was fully owned by Austereo. They only owned a handful of stations at the time, but it was considered important and programmed as such.
It’s such a pipeline for talent, but most tend to get wasted there. SCA needs to understand the importance of stations like Canberra, Hobart, Newcastle, Gold Coast and (to a lesser extent) Bunbury. They have zero talent pipeline because they got rid of all the regional breakfast shows. But perhaps if they spent some time on stations like Canberra, they wouldn’t be in such a mess.
And I absolutely agree about the current talent sounding too young. The number of times I’ve heard them mispronounce 90’s and 00’s artists is ridiculous.
I can wait for another endometriosis special event. Pumped!
Ned and Josh are not good.
Josh is implying Canberra to go jump on his social media after these results. Shows real maturity.
Surely both 104.7 & 106.3 must get sick of playing the same songs every day, Because I’m sick of hearing them. Thanks 2CA.