{"id":552086,"date":"2026-03-20T04:50:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T04:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/552086\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T04:50:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T04:50:13","slug":"arn-radio-ratings-silence-raises-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/552086\/","title":{"rendered":"ARN radio ratings silence raises questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There\u2019s a rhythm to radio ratings day. In fact, you can almost set your watch to it.<\/p>\n

No, I\u2019m not talking about that white-knuckle thirty minutes between when the results hit inboxes across the country and when the embargo lifts. I\u2019m talking about the refined courtship between each network and each publication that takes place in the days leading up to the results.<\/p>\n

You see, for every survey, each network rolls out its designated voice -content directors (CDs), CEOs, the occasional newly minted \u201cchief dude\u201d or whatever, to face the music. Or at least, to face journalists.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a delicate dance.<\/p>\n

We ask the tough questions, or, more often, we politely circle the numbers, tease out the narrative, and try to understand what it all means for the network and, crucially, for advertisers.<\/p>\n

These are, after all, publicly listed companies. There\u2019s a responsibility there, to shareholders, to the market, to the broader industry watching closely, and to their listeners.<\/p>\n

Let me give you even more of a peek behind the curtain.<\/p>\n

This post-ratings t\u00eate-\u00e0-t\u00eate is such an entrenched ritual that, more often than not, the day before a survey drops, I\u2019ll text a content director or CEO with nothing more than a time suggestion.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how predictable it\u2019s become.<\/p>\n

Which is why, for the first survey of 2026, the absence of ARN<\/a> in Mediaweek\u2019s post-ratings roundup is so glaring.<\/p>\n

The explanation offered to this publication was simple: given the recent legal issues impacting The Kyle and Jackie O Show<\/a>, it did not feel appropriate to discuss ratings.<\/p>\n

Even after assurances that questions relating to Kyle Sandilands, Jackie \u2018O\u2019 Henderson and ARN\u2019s now very well-remunerated legal teams would not be raised, the answer remained unchanged.<\/p>\n

And so, here we are.<\/p>\n

For a company now grappling with the consequences of a deal struck with what can only be described as tunnel vision, the decision to opt out of the conversation altogether feels\u2026 strange. More than that, it feels like a missed opportunity.<\/p>\n

The reluctance to engage \u2013 to front up, to contextualise, to even lightly spruik its broader portfolio \u2013 is not just unusual, it is, as one current employee told Mediaweek, on the condition of anonymity, \u201ccowardly\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"ARN<\/p>\n

ARN CEO Michael Stephenson<\/p>\n

Ready, set, attack<\/p>\n

The start of 2026 hasn\u2019t just been defined by one breakfast show controversy. Radioland, more broadly, is in flux.<\/p>\n

Under Michael \u2018Stevo\u2019 Stephenson, the company has been repositioned as an \u201centertainment\u201d outfit \u2013 a deliberate reframing that broadens the battlefield of the nation\u2019s ongoing radio wars.<\/p>\n

At the front line, the vanguard is stacked with seasoned operators. There\u2019s Robin Bailey on KIIS\u2019 Brisbane breakfast offering on 97.3. Yes, the Bailey who, along with her co-hosts Kip Wightman and Corey Oates, was fired at the end of 2025, then rehired at the start of 2026 after listener outrage.<\/p>\n

Bailey even went on to confront Stephenson about the original decision on-air, to which he replied: \u201cObviously, we made a decision at the end of last year, and quite clearly, it wasn\u2019t the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a rare moment of introspection. Maybe, perhaps, things had changed at the top.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

KIIS 97.3\u2019s Robin, Kip, and Corey<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the newly networked Christian O\u2019Connell.\u00a0The Brit who banks on a real connection with his audience. In an interview with Mediaweek<\/a> earlier this year, O\u2019Connell was poetic about his craft, describing his job not as entertainment, but as transmission.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in the energy and emotion business. I\u2019m like a utility company. So I have to transfer energy into my words, my stories, and to actually give energy to the people listening.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a broadcaster who clearly funnels so much of himself into his job, ARN should\u2019ve had the decency to rally behind O\u2019Connell, who was not only thrust into a timeslot once held by industry stalwarts Brendan Jones and Amanda Keller, but into a completely new city.<\/p>\n

When Sandilands and Henderson began their ill-fated Melbourne networking journey, ARN did not miss an opportunity to back them.<\/p>\n

Look back at our past coverage. The company line was towed, and hard.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the network\u2019s other broadcasting talent, such as Kent \u2018Smallzy\u2019 Small, Toni Tenaglia, and Gordie Waters.<\/p>\n

And let\u2019s not forget those experiential plays. Initiatives like iHeartLIVE and larger-scale live events, which were billed as proof of the company\u2019s \u201centertainment\u201d ethos.<\/p>\n

Clearly, this isn\u2019t a business lacking firepower, which is why the silence feels so odd.<\/p>\n

Ratings day was never just about defending a number. It\u2019s where networks frame the story \u2013 where they remind agencies, clients, journalists and rivals about their vision. They spruik what\u2019s working, where the momentum sits, and why they\u2019re still a serious player in a crowded audio market.<\/p>\n

Stepping back doesn\u2019t sidestep that scrutiny. If anything, it sharpens it.<\/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