{"id":504604,"date":"2026-02-26T05:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T05:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/504604\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T05:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T05:07:11","slug":"how-will-the-sydney-numbers-play-out-in-survey-1-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/504604\/","title":{"rendered":"How will the Sydney numbers play out in Survey 1 of 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                                    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-1.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re exactly three weeks away from the first metro radio ratings survey of the year, but already there\u2019s much industry conjecture as to how the numbers will play out.<\/p>\n<p>With a newly-networked show and other major lineup changes coming into the mix, Scott Thomson \u2013 AFTRS graduate and Manager of Universal NSW \u2013 believes we\u2019ll start to see a trend towards a three-station breakaway in Sydney Breakfast.<\/p>\n<p>Thomson recently sparked a passionate debate when he suggested it was time that stations like Smooth FM dropped their local call signs.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-139393 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-1798.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1223\" height=\"776\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Thomson anticipates 2GB, KIIS and Smooth FM will move further away from the pack, when Survey 1 of 2026 lands on Thursday March 19.<\/p>\n<p>With Nova and Gold having both launched new Breakfast shows this year, Thomson observes: \u201cHistory tells us one thing pretty reliably: Breakfast changes usually hurt before they help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you change a long-running show, you don\u2019t just \u2018add\u2019 listeners \u2014 you first lose some. Loyal listeners sample elsewhere, and it takes time to build new habits and bring new audiences across.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNova, in particular, walked away from a 15-year run with Fitzy &amp; Wippa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a huge reset.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his LinkedIn post, Thomson also suggests Gold faces a similar challenge with its networked Breakfast show.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChristian O\u2019Connell is a proven performer \u2014 but Sydney audiences don\u2019t always embrace \u2018imported\u2019 shows quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeanwhile, 2GB, KIIS and Smooth FM all have established, familiar Breakfast products. In times of change, familiarity usually wins. They\u2019re the natural beneficiaries of audience churn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019ll start to see them open a gap on the rest of the market.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-139395 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-3421.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"770\" height=\"514\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Currently, 2GB\u2019s Ben Fordham dominates the state of play \u2013 #1 in Sydney Breakfast with a 14.9 share.<\/p>\n<p>Smooth\u2019s Bogart Torelli has Sydney\u2019s #2 FM Breakfast show behind KIIS duo Kyle &amp; Jackie O, increasing her share by 1.1% to 10.1 in the<a href=\"https:\/\/radiotoday.com.au\/radio-ratings-survey-8-timewarp\/?highlight=survey%208%202025\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> final metro survey of 2025.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Nova\u2019s newly-installed Drive team of Fitzy &amp; Wippa with Kate Ritchie rounded out the year as Sydney\u2019s third most listened to Breakfast show, with a cume reach of 637,000.<\/p>\n<p>Christian O\u2019Connell finished off the year as Melbourne\u2019s #1 FM Breakfast show with an 11% share, ahead of his show\u2019s national expansion.<\/p>\n<p>Images supplied.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019re exactly three weeks away from the first metro radio ratings survey of the year, but already there\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504605,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[89931,33024,64,63,10823,253560,31328,134,253561,222128,136,98705,223262,17304,253562],"class_list":{"0":"post-504604","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-2gb","9":"tag-arn","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-ben-fordham","13":"tag-bogart-torelli","14":"tag-christian-oconnell","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-gfk-survey-1-2026","17":"tag-gold-network","18":"tag-music","19":"tag-nine-radio","20":"tag-nova-entertainment","21":"tag-radio-ratings","22":"tag-smooth-fm"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}