Radio Today Tonight

In this episode Jen takes a deep dive into GfK Radio 360 Survey 3 where KIIS Sydney saw the full impact of the departure of Kyle and Jackie O during the survey dates But in a brighter note for ARN, Jonesy and Amanda leapt to the top on Drive, in both Sydney hand Melbourne Steve Ahern chats with ARN, ACE and Tapt Radio  SCA generally had a good survey, but they started the day with the announcement of some 300 jobs cuts for the newly merged organisation Also, the National Radio Airplay Chart song of the week See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steve Ahern joins Jen Seyderhelm for the Radio Today podcast.  Steve has just attended the ARN annual general meeting. Also in this episode: The Gold Coast survey results The Kyle and Jackie court case New Zealand Standards Authority AI podcasts Speculation after Vision Australia Radio announced they will drop some AM frequencies Do you have your ticket yet to the Australian Audio Awards yet? Go here to get a ticket  Voting for the People’s Choice Award is open now: Vote for Radio Finalists here Vote for Podcast Finalists here Review all the finalists here before you vote.   Disclosure: Steve Ahern is an expert witness for the court in the Kyle Jackie ARN case.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jen Seyderhelm and Steve Ahern discuss: Kyle Sandillands and Jackie O's court case contract revelations  The latest Canberra Survey results Super Radio Network's business strategy Takeaways from RadioDays Europe A hot tip on someone who could become Kyle's replacement We look ahead to Australian Metro Survey 2 The RCS National Radio Airplay chart features Rachael Fahim. www.radiotoday.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  Jen is joined by Steve Ahern this week. We cover -  The Australian Audio Awards - get your entries in! They close at midnight on Friday the 6th. Radioinfo turns 30 A sneak peek at Survey 1, 2026 And Kyle and Jackie O. Steve Ahern had an on the record chat with Kyle. While things keep changing, Steve and Jen discuss the possible future for the duo and for ARN.  More at these links: https://radiotoday.com.au/i-didnt-quit-jackie-o-opens-up-about-arn-departure/  https://radioinfo.com.au/news/happy-30th-birthday-radioinfo/  https://mumbrella.com.au/audioawards See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 It has been just two weeks since GfK Survey 8 and yet what is usually a gentle start to the year in radioland has been anything but. Nine Radio’s sale goes through Changes for Nova Sydney breakfast and afternoons James Valentine retires and triple j gets a new music director New execs for the Super Radio Network ARN offloads more SCA shares And we’ll shine a light on the National Radio Airplay Chart song of the week by Harry Styles HAVE YOU ENTERED THE AUDIO AWARDS YET? https://mumbrella.com.au/audioawards  www.radiotoday.com.au     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian Radio Ratings survey summary, 20 Jan 2026 in this RadioToday podcast

Jen Syderhelm wraps up the results from todays ratings survey.  Steve Ahern talks to programming heads of Ace, ARN, Nine Radio, Nova Entertainment and SCA.  More at https://radioinfo.com.au/news/radio-ratings-survey-7-weekly-listeners-up-to-12-4-million/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See all our coverage of the ARN Upfront announcements here. In this podcast Jen summarises the ARN changes and we speak to:  Chief Audience and Content Officer Lauren Joyce about the network changes and longer range plans for Kyle and Jackie O   Ben Campbell Director of Digital Strategies, Data and Digital takes a deep dive into iHeart’s new data partnerships and ad tech  Chief Operating Officer Michael Stephenson (pictured) talks with Steve Ahern about how partnerships will work to the best serve ARN advertisesrs. Smallzy was confirmed to be joining the KIIS network with The Smallzy Show which will air from 3-4pm weekdays and a night edition from 7-9pm. He will be heard on KIIS 1065, KIIS 1011, KIIS 97.3, KIIS 102.3 and KIIS DAB+ Perth from January 2026. This will mean the end of The Pick Up with Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne who previously hosted the early drive 3-4pm spot. It was already confirmed that their Life Uncut podcast would no longer be associated with ARN iHeart. Will and Woody will continue on Drive. ARN’s KIIS and GOLD networks are going fully national in 2026, in a move which brings Kyle & Jackie O to a new audience in Perth, via a new KIIS DAB+ station. Adelaide’s Mix102.3 will rebrand as KIIS 102.3. In consolidating the GOLD brand, Perth’s 96FM becomes GOLD96FM. Adelaide’s Cruise1323 evolves into GOLD1323, and new GOLD DAB+ stations will launch in Brisbane and Adelaide. Jonesy & Amanda will have a GOLD Network National Drive program with Steve Fitton also announcing that he is leaving his drive role with the network at the end of this year.  The new hosts of Mix 102.3, which will become KIIS 102.3, will be Ben and Liam (Ben Harvey and Liam Stapleton) with Belle Jackson returning to her off air role as producer. The new host of KIIS 97.3 will be Lowie, Craig Low, returning to Australia and radio after a long period in the US.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Radio Today special Survey 6 edition with Jen Seyderhelm. Steve Ahern chats to Greg Byrnes, Peter Clay, Lauren Joyce, Matthew O'Reilly and Jon Vertigan about their network ratings results Big wins for Nine stations 2GB in Sydney and 3AW in Melbourne Cume gains for The Fox FM and Gold in Melbourne Kyle and Jackie O slightly down but a bigger hit for Jase and Lauren on Nova 100 CADA and smooth still dominating DAB+      and the National Radio Airplay Chart song of the week, Taylor Swift's Ophelia.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Jen Seyderhelm covers: Ben, Liam and Belle to depart the Nova Network, last day on air December 12 Hamish and Andy aloft the August podcast ranker with some aces for the ABC LiSTNR and Audacy form a podcast partnership The ACMA find Marty Sheargold and Paul Burt in breach of classification and decency rules Archie and Bretz take on Mix Drive on the Sunshine Coast and other movements The National Radio Airplay Chart song of the week is Dancing2  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Jen Seyderhelm covers: Surveys of Newcastle and Warrnambool Podpoll 2025  CRA showcases the power of audio while RNZ flounders Russell Clark joins Lisa Shaw on 96FM breakfast 4GR (Triple M Toowoomba) turns 100 Well wishes for Andrew Moore, Darren James and Steve Bedwell and the National Radio Airplay Chart song of the week. Jen also mentioned the Asia Podcast Award finalists, you can find them here.  The winners will be announced at the RadioDays Asia conference in Jakarta on 2nd September. Radiodays Asia program lineup here. Register here.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s only been just over a month since the release of survey 3. Survey 4 last year was a fairly stable affair. This time though there’s been some significant change at the top with new No 1 stations in Sydney and Melbourne. Let’s start in Melbourne with Gold 104.3 No 1 in the city. This ends the long reign of Nine’s 3AW and is the first time that station has reached No 1 since 1992. Congrats to them.  Ross and Russ retained top spot in breakfast with Nova 100’s Jase and Lauren No 1 FM and Gold’s Christian O’Connell right behind. Kyle and Jackie O were up .5 which will make ARN happy. The new Triple M breakfast show of Mick Molloy, Roo, Rosie and Titus had the biggest gains overall perhaps in part attributable to being mid AFL season. SEN 1116 too was up across the board. In Sydney, Nine’s 2GB also lost top spot and while Ben Fordham held onto No 1 breakfast, Mark Levy dropped behind smooth 95.3 in the morning and all day parts and even weekends took hits, except for John Stanley in the evening.  KIIS 1065 however had a great survey. Kyle and Jackie O were up 1.4 and the station 1.1. The other biggest breakfast winner was ABC newsradio which I’m at least in part putting down to coverage of the mushroom trial which has proved to be a listening boon for the ABC. Outside of 2GB Nova 969 had the biggest losses at breakfast but I suspect that the absence of Kate Ritchie from that show will be resolved before survey 5. Brisbane, Triple M held top spot overall and reclaimed it for Marto, Margaux and Dan on breakfast. Nova 106.9’s Ash Luttsy and Nikki Osborne dropped 1.0 to third in breakfast after just clinching top spot last survey. It’s very tight in the city. 4BH had a great survey, BBQ Bob on breakfast up to a 10% audience share. KIIS 97.3 not so much. They’re now 5th overall behind 4BH and Bob. Adelaide - Mix 102.3 saw the biggest drop and Triple M the biggest gains but still are No 1 and 2 overall respectively. Triple M’s Roo Ditts and Loz took back No 1 in breakfast from Hayley and Max at Mix. fiveaa’s David and Will saw the biggest improvement in breakfast for the talk station, up 1.7 to an 11.4 audience share. Finally Perth and 96FM retained No 1 overall from Nova 93.7 but both had more than 2% losses and Nath, Nat and Shaun on Nova breakfast were down 4% but so dominant in the spot they were still clear No 1. Triple M’s Xav and Katie were up 3.4% to sneak into second spot in breakfast with that new this year pairing, and AFL season working for the station which was up 1.7 to a 10.9 audience share. 6ix had a great survey too, up 1.5 overall and 1.6 in breakfast.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bonus episode, we look at the results of Radio Ratings Survey 3 that took place today. Jen Seyderhelm dissects the numbers and we hear from the 5 main commercial radio group content directors.   The overall results for the five metros: 2GB increased their lead as the top station with smooth fm gaining ground also in second.  This was 2Day FM’s first full survey with their tailored to youth format and they’ll be happy with their increases, but bizarrely possibly not in the 40-64 age group which isn’t where they’re targeting. Kyle and Jackie O were steady and top FM breakfast behind Ben Fordham at 2GB. Triple M Sydney struggled the most, I suspect because their new lineup to start 2025 lost Tarsh Belling before the ink was dry on her contract. They have announced show anchor Cat Lynch to replace her today and that stability should help improve things from here. Melbourne - 3AW is still No1 and Gold 104.3 No 2, but both saw drops and it was a second significant one for Nine Radio even though Ross and Russ’s breakfast cumes improved. Ross and Russ were No 1 in breakfast but Jase and Lauren at Nova 100 regained FM No 1. They’re audience remained the same, Christian O’Connell’s dropped a percent. The biggest gaines overall though were for ABC Melbourne and Sharnelle Vella and Bob Murphy on breakfast which will be a relief to the pair and the broadcaster. Their 2% improvement saw them overtake Kyle and Jackie O who lost their gains, and more, from last survey. It was also not a great result for Mick Molloy and his crew on Triple M Melbourne. I thought that the sporting season and a bit of time would have seen them improve but not yet.  Brisbane. The top four stations all lost a little ground with Triple M staying No 1 overall and Ash Luttsy and Nikki Osborne on Nova 106.9 in breakfast. The big winner however was 4BH and BBQ Gallagher on breakfast. I feel this also happened around this time last year. Both were up to a 9.3 audience share. Can he crack the top 3 this time around? 4BC also continued its steady improvement. Adelaide saw a changing of the guard on breakfast in one of the tightest races and markets. Mix 102.3 was No 1 station overall, increasing its lead over triple m and Nova but on breakfast, despite Roo, Ditts and Loz on Triple M increasing their audience share, Nova 91.9 Jodie and Hayesy has a bigger gain to pinch No 1which saw them end Roo, Ditts and Loz’s 20 survey winning streak. Finally Perth and it was no surprise that Nath, Nat and Shaun at Nova 93.7 remained No 1 on breakfast (but down 2%) however ARN’s 96FM took over as No 1 station. Clairsy and Lisa had good gains on 96FM breakfast to close the gap and this was the one market where triple m breakfast duo Xav and Katie have bedded in nicely and overtook 6PR to sit fourth in that market now. Addition mention to Gary Adshead who departed 6PR last year to join the ABC. ABC had a good survey in Perth and Gary was up 1.2% on Drive.   More from the Content Directors at https://radiotoday.com.au/ratings  Ratings charts at https://radioinfo.com.au/news/ratings-results-survey-3-2025    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.