{"id":15833,"date":"2025-07-23T11:27:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T11:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/15833\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T11:27:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T11:27:09","slug":"nova-sydney-feels-the-heat-as-ritchie-stays-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/15833\/","title":{"rendered":"Nova Sydney feels the heat as Ritchie stays away"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Nova\u2019s Sydney station is facing a clear challenge in the latest radio ratings: what happens when one of your most recognisable names disappears from the airwaves?<\/p>\n

According to the latest radio ratings<\/a>, the 4th survey for the year, Nova 96.9\u2019s cumulative audience has dropped, and its Breakfast show, Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie, has slipped into third place among FM competitors.<\/p>\n

While Nova executives aren\u2019t sounding the alarm just yet, the absence of Ritchie, who has been off-air since February, hasn\u2019t gone unnoticed.<\/p>\n

Nova Network Group Programming Director Brendan Taylor<\/a> says the network is closely monitoring the shift. \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt it always plays on my mind, naturally,\u201d he told Mediaweek. \u201cBut if you look at it overall\u2026 we\u2019re on a 7.0% share. This time last year we were a 5.9%.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sydney: Navigating absence and audience shifts<\/p>\n

Nova 96.9 now has a cumulative audience of 1.039 million and a 7.0% share. Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie, though still in the top tier, has seen a dip, drawing 534,000 listeners. Taylor attributes this to the unavoidable reality of absence: \u201cWe\u2019re a human medium and the audience is obviously reacting in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, he\u2019s optimistic. \u201cChrissie (Swan) has done an outstanding job coming in and working with Wippa and\u00a0 Fitzy. So, all in all, I actually think today is a really solid day for the Sydney team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swan has been pulling a double shift since Ritchie\u2019s departure by stepping in for her in the Breakfast slot, while still doing her own Afternoons show, The Chrissy Swan Show.<\/p>\n

Despite hearing her in the mornings, it seems listeners can\u2019t get enough, with the program nabbing the title of the most popular show in its timeslot (2pm-4pm) with cume of 1.207 million listeners.<\/p>\n

For Taylor, Swan\u2019s work ethic is something to celebrate: \u201cShe\u2019s achieved a lot in her career to date, and to be at this point, having worked really hard with Jack on The Chrissie Swan Show, the audience has, again, consistently remained with them. It\u2019s a competitive time slot now, that early afternoon drive. But she\u2019s great. She\u2019s so great to work with, and it\u2019s so pleasing to see the results again for her.<\/p>\n

Other dayparts across the network show more stability. Ricki-Lee, Tim & Joel remains the third most listened-to Drive show in Sydney, with a cume of 333,000. While, in Evenings, Smallzy\u2019s Surgery leads the timeslot with a 6.7% share and ranks second in total listeners with a cume of 90,000.<\/p>\n

\"Chrissy<\/p>\n

Chrissy Swan<\/p>\n

Melbourne: Momentum and market leadership<\/p>\n

While Sydney works through its Breakfast disruption, Nova 100 in Melbourne is surging.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s now the most listened-to station in Australia with a cume of 1.326 million. Jase & Lauren leads the FM Breakfast pack with a 10.8% share, up 0.6 points, and a national-leading cume of 764,000, up by 23,000. \u201cIt just shows we\u2019ve got consistency with our audience and consistency in that engagement,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n

Nova 100 also ranks first on weekends with 697,000 listeners and dominates the key 10\u201354 demo with a 12.9% share, 2.2 points ahead of its nearest rival.<\/p>\n

The long game: Fine-tuning and feedback<\/p>\n

Despite the Sydney speed bump, Taylor says Nova remains focused on consistency. \u201cNaturally, we want people to spend more time with us to drive that share\u2026 but from a base point and an audience point of view, I couldn\u2019t be happier.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also credits Nova\u2019s behind-the-scenes work: \u201cOver the last two years Sarah McGilvray, our national show PD, has worked so closely with the teams. We believe in that constant feedback, because it\u2019s the only way for the teams to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

With more than 6.4 million listeners across the Nova Network,\u00a0 a streak that\u2019s held for 14 consecutive surveys, Taylor\u2019s attention is firmly on long-term strategy. \u201cIt could be a standout year for us,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s always work to do, but I do that with a smile on my face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep on top of the most important media, marketing, and agency news each day with the\u00a0Mediaweek\u00a0Morning Report\u00a0\u2013 delivered for free every morning to your inbox.<\/a><\/p>\n