Latest Rating Survey Hurts Triple J

Nielsen Australia's second national radio ratings survey results for 2012 were released today with national youth broadcaster triple j losing ground in almost all territories across the country, as the tussle between commercial networks is, once again, an entertaining battle.

SYDNEY

The figures were most painful for triple j in Sydney as they lost two percent of their share in the overall Sydney market. They suffered worse out of everyone in the territory, though Triple M also struggled, losing 1.4 percent overall. The drive slot was triple j's biggest worry as it lost 3.2 of its share to end up with 6.5 percent after its strong showing of 9.7 percent in the previous quarter. 2GB and ABC are the frontrunners in the market with Austereo's 2Day FM the highest rating commercial FM station and third overall.

MELBOURNE

It was the smaller stations that gained ground in the Melbourne ratings for this quarter, with big guns the ABC and Nova losing the greatest amount of market share, while the likes of SEN and Magic 1278 gaining ground. Nova's share was whittled down to 7.3 percent of the audience across the board, down from 8.1 percent in the previous period, as 3AW and Fox FM cement their positions as the city's top stations with 15.2 and 10.2 percent respectively. In Melbourne, triple j retained its 5.1 share across the board throughout the survey period.

The biggest news out of Melbourne, however, came with the news that they were the largest radio market in the country. A massive revenue drop of 6.59 percent meant Sydney took $16.015m in April, while Melbourne lost far less, down just 0.88 percent and taking $16.023m for the month.

BRISBANE

It's still 97.3's town, but Nova have tightened the gap in the Brisbane market, winning the all important (commercial) weekday breakfast slot and enjoying a huge 2.5 percent growth in all slots across the board. This major gain has meant stations elsewhere have lost out rather evenly, with just ABC Newsradio, and AM stations 4BH and 4KQ registering growth in the survey period. The national youth network suffered a loss of 0.2 percent across the survey period.

ADELAIDE

Mix102.3 was knocked from its top position in Adelaide over the past couple of months, dropping to third position behind 5AA and the ABC. It was once again bad news for triple j with a loss of 0.4 percent across the period, though they did enjoy a 0.1 percent increase in the weekday breakfast timeslot.

PERTH

Mix 94.5 remains Perth's highest rating station, but not after a significant drop in listenership figures, the station registering a 2.8 percent loss of market share throughout the survey period. It's the 100^th survey in a row that has seen Mix on top, though the ground they have lost seems to have been absorbed largely by Nova, who have gained 2.4 percent across the board. Perth was the only territory where triple j gained ground, with a healthy 0.7 percent lift in listenership.