Ratings Reactions: Duncan Campbell lauds Kyle & Jackie O, shifts focus to KIIS 101.1

With Survey #2 for 2019 released yesterday, the major networks all have positives to take out of the day.

ARN saw positive returns in most markets, with flagship Sydney Breakfast show Kyle & Jackie O the standout result. The multi-ACRA winning duo go from strength to strength, and in this book grew share to 11.4% (+1.3) among People 10+.

KIIS FM had impressive overall gains as well, jumping to 9.1% (+1.4).

“Kyle & Jackie O continue to exceed expectation and produce results like this,” national content director Duncan Campbell tells Radio Today.

“KIIS has the highest audience in Sydney now, over a million listeners which is fantastic. It’s a powerful combination and there’s not much more than you can really say about it.”

So what would it take for Kyle & Jackie O to be beaten in Sydney?

“When you’re dealing with such entrenched, habitual listening, raving fans of the show,” says Campbell. “It would take them to leave the market for there to be a shakeup in the hierarchy.”

Campbell is happy with the results across the Workday too and doesn’t see Nova’s new Sydney or Melbourne Workday shakeups (with Smallzy and Matt Tilley) as a threat.

“My philosophy on the more-CHR formats is that you don’t need a personality-based talk music show across the workday.

“They’re obviously trying something new and different. Their results were quite good today so I’m not really sure about the reason for the change.”

ARN will also be pleased with the result of Gold104.3, which moved into second spot on FM in Melbourne with 10.1% (+0.7) share of listening.

Christian O’Connell’s share also seemed to correct on Breakfast after a disappointing first book of the year.

“The music on Gold is very strong, we’re #1 on the Workday from 9-4. #2 in Drive with Gavin Miller, plus Christian O’Connell has lifted,” says Campbell

“He’s done really well and we will continue to see momentum behind that show.

“What’s interesting is the demographic strength of Gold compared to smooth in Melbourne. Gold is strong is 25-54, particularly 40-54, with an 18% share compared to smooth’s 10%. Smooth’s growth was 10-17, 18-24 and 65+ which isn’t ideal for them commercially.”

Campbell also reiterated a point he has made before, that Christian O’Connell “will be the #1 station in Melbourne before the end of the year.”

It was another less-than-ideal result at KIIS 101.1, with Jase & PJ seemingly still suffering from a familiarity issue.

Bringing across Tony Aldridge from Mix 102.3 is part of ARN’s strategy to bring closer focus on the underperforming station.

“Derek Bargwanna oversees KIIS in Sydney and Melbourne, but there is a need for a local content director on the ground to work day to day with the team,” says Campbell.

“Tony will work with DB and myself as well. He comes from Adelaide and he’s done a fantastic job over there. He’s great with talent and he’ll be a good leader in Melbourne.

“The key goal is to get the two Breakfast shows in Melbourne working. Christian is going well and we’re getting momentum behind Jase & PJ as well.”

After a tough few surveys in Brisbane, ARN’s 97.3FM is edging closer to securing a spot among the big contenders in the market.

The station rose to a 10.8% (+0.4) share of listening, while Breakfast remained flat with 9%. Campbell says that ARN is taking each result as it comes and that he is encouraged by incremental gains in a tough market.

“We’ve been micromanaging up there a bit. We know it’s not been performing where we want it to, but it can.

“So the improvements today are encouraging and I think we’ll see some further growth there as well as we get more competitive.

Campbell also believes that Hit105 won’t continue to sustain its good results. The SCA station rose impressively to a 11.8% share (+1.6) this book.

“I suspect that some of the halo out of Hit will dim over time. Nova is still very strong up there. We’re fixing Brisbane and today’s improvement is a part of that.”

Looking at Adelaide, Mix remains a dominant force and Campbell reveals that #1 Breakfast hosts Jodie & Soda will be involved in the process of hiring a new content director to replace Tony Aldridge.

“What I really wanted to do was to promote from within because I think that sends a really strong message that there is career progression within ARN.

“Jodie and Soda were disappointed when he announced he was leaving.

“We’ll make sure we put the right person in there to replace Tony and build on the success that’s already been generated out of Adelaide.”

Perth is another market that ARN has shaken up recently with a new appointment, bringing in industry veteran Gary Roberts to oversee 96FM.

96 had incremental increases, up to 8.3% overall (+0.5) and for Paul & Lise on Breakfast to 7.3% (+1.1).

“We are very methodical about how we build these stations,” says Campbell.

“We’ve made some hires there and now with Gary Roberts overseeing that market for us. I think it puts that station in a much better position to compete with some strong stations.

“That was a well-deserved result for Paul & Lise today, they are putting in a lot of hard work over there.”

Meanwhile, it was a mixed book for KIIS Network Drive team Will & Woody, and Campbell believes they are finally starting to show what they are capable of.

“The sorts of story arcs that they’ve been doing are where they really shine,” he says.

“That really showed me the full potential of those guys, really well-executed pieces of content. That show is only a year in, we’re happy with the way they are progressing.”

So overall Campbell was pleased with the results this week, and tells us that Survey #2 is always a better indicator for the success of the rest of the year.

“You see more about where the stations or networks are positioned in Survey #2. Today was really a case of establishing a position leading to further growth for the rest of the year.

“We’ve still got some issues and some challenges but we’re in control and we can capitalise on the good results today and carry those forward.”

Catch up on all the #1s, ratings graphs and talking points from GfK’s second survey of 2019 here.