Source : THE AGE NEWS
The ABC’s local radio station has again delivered its lowest ever share of the city’s radio audience, in a stark result indicating the network’s waning influence on Melburnians in the lead-up to the Federal Election.
ABC Radio Melbourne posted a 4.3 per cent share in the city, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous survey, while its new breakfast lineup featuring former AFL footballer Bob Murphy and former Channel Seven reporter Sharnelle Vella has also failed to grab audiences so far.
The ABC’s new Melbourne breakfast duo have not yet delivered a ratings boost.Credit: Photograph by Chris Hopkins
Yet, the survey was more positive for the headline-grabbing breakfast duo of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson on KIIS FM, delivering their biggest audience bump since launching in Melbourne just over a year ago.
The pair grew their audience 0.7 percentage points to a 5.8 per cent share in survey two, aided by a major promotional giveaway. The results were published one day after Sandilands threatened to pull the show from Melbourne if its performance didn’t improve.
“If we don’t rate better by the end of this year, I’m pulling the carpet out. I’ll just take the show off Melbourne,” Sandilands said on air on Wednesday.
The show leapfrogged the ABC’s breakfast pairing in the breakfast slot. Murphy and Vella’s share fell 0.7 percentage points to a 5.6 per cent share, while Drive host Ali Moore’s show also fell by 0.8 percentage points to a 3.6 per cent share. The latter’s share was 7.8 per cent in the same survey last year.
Raf Epstein’s Mornings show was the sole ABC Radio Melbourne program not to lose share, but it only grew by 0.1 percentage points to a 4.6 per cent share, also significantly down on previous years.
It was a positive result for the new Radio National Breakfast program in Melbourne, however, with a share jump of 0.5 percentage points, landing on a 2.3 per cent share.
The new show, fronted by journalist Sally Sara and a roving team of reporters, grew its cumulative audience by 39 per cent, to 93,000 people. This figure describes the number of people who listened for at least eight minutes during the survey period.
The ABC’s radio audience is a far cry from what it once was – its flagship shows Breakfast and
Mornings competed for many years with the talkback station 3AW. In this survey, 3AW’s station share was 14.1 per cent in Melbourne, with its breakfast share 18.8 per cent.
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