Ben Fordham maintains strong lead in Sydney radio ratings

Save articles for later

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

2GB’s Ben Fordham has maintained his dominance of Sydney’s breakfast airwaves with an audience share of 16.1 per cent in the latest ratings survey – down from 17.3 per cent previously. (Nine is the owner of 2GB, 2UE and this masthead.)

Fordham replaced long-serving breakfast host Alan Jones in June.

Ben Fordham held the top position in Sydney’s breakfast radio ratings.Credit:Louise Kennerley

Kiis breakfast anchors Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O climbed to a 10.7 per cent share, inching ahead of ABC Sydney presenters Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck on 10.6 per cent.

ABC Sydney suffered the biggest drop of any station overall, falling from 10.5 per cent to 8.3 per cent to claim fourth place behind 2GB (down 0.5 points to 13.7 per cent), Smooth (up 0.9 points to 10.8 per cent) and Kiis (up 0.5 points to 8.7 per cent).

WSFM averaged an 8.1 per cent audience share, in front of Nova on 6.1 per cent, Triple M on 5.4 per cent, Triple J on 5.2 per cent, 2CH on 5.0 per cent, ABC Classic (which enjoyed the biggest gain of any station) on 4.5 per cent, and former top-rating FM broadcaster 2Day on 3.4 per cent.

Kiis hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O finished second in breakfast.Credit:Ed Bodkin.

2Day’s music-oriented breakfast show climbed 1 point to 3.5 per cent.

The station has struggled in the ratings since former breakfast hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O defected to Kiis in late 2013. Next year, 2Day will revert to a presenter-driven breakfast format. The new hosts will be announced before Christmas.

Smooth claimed fourth place in breakfast with an 8.5 per cent share, ahead of WSFM on 8.3 per cent, Nova on 6.7 per cent, and Triple M on 5.4 per cent.

2GB morning presenter Ray Hadley extended his lead with an increase of 0.4 points to 17.2 per cent, ahead of Smooth on 12.3 per cent and Kiis on 8.5 per cent.

In the 4pm to 7pm drive shift, Smooth finished first on 11.3 per cent, with Kiis on 10.1 per cent and 2GB on 8.4 per cent.

It is important to note that these figures reflect the time slots designated by research company GFK, such as 4pm to 7pm for drive. But many programs do not fall neatly within these hours, making program-by-program comparisons difficult.

Normally, GFK releases eight surveys each year but in April the company suspended the third, fourth and fifth surveys due to the COVID-19 pandemic. GFK resumed its data collection on July 26 via a mix of paper diaries and e-diaries.

Thursday's ratings report is based on figures collected between late August and late October.

Most Viewed in Culture

Source: Read Full Article