Yesterday, the radio world stopped in its tracks for the release of another round of GFK survey results. Now, we take another look at the numbers by pairing off stations and shows to see who came out on top.
Newstalk ZB vs RadioLive
Talkback tussle
When looking for a commercial talkback radio station, it has to be either Newstalk ZB or RadioLive as both sit on the TRB’s Station Matrix in similar spots. Although the former has a slight older female skew, while the latter has a slight older male skew.
Despite this, there are five ranks between them. Newstalk ZB sits in fourth spot with an audience of 495,300 after a growth of 36,300. However, the station does achieve the top spot for all stations with a share of 10 percent, behind The Edge’s 8.1 percent.
RadioLive sits at the 11th, with an audience of 230,100 after a drop of 10,300.
It will be interesting to see what happens here when Radio New Zealand’s results are released next week.
Winner: It’s clearly Newstalk ZB’s to win.
(Note: Mike Hosking Breakfast is 6-8.30am and The AM Show is 6-9am. These numbers reflect the audience from 6-9am.)
Mike Hosking Breakfast vs Duncan Garner on The AM Show
Breakfast battle
Breakfast time belongs to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking as he overtook The Edge’s Jay-Jay, Dom & Randell to take top spot. That momentum was achieved with a growth of 34,400 listeners – which is the biggest growth of all breakfast shows. It now has an audience of 351,000.
On the other hand, RadioLive’s The AM Show fell by 12,200 to achieve an audience of 148,700 and a rank of 11th spot. That loss comes after Duncan Garner stepped in as host after Paul Henry in December. This time last year, Henry received the accolade of Best Talk Presenter at the NZ Radio Awards.
Winner: We wait with anticipation for this year’s awards, but until then, the Breakfast Battle crown goes to Hosking.
The Edge vs ZM
Battle for the teens
Going up against the nation’s most popular station, which has 662,300 listeners in the country would be daunting for ZM, however, it put in a solid effort to grow its audience by 41,000—the second largest growth of all stations.
ZM’s audience is now 478,100, putting the station in fifth spot.
But it wasn’t enough to get close to The Edge, which has maintained its top spot for the number of listeners. And with More FM in second with 517,400, it’ll be a while before The Edge gets pipped at the post.
Winner: ZM gave it a good go, but The Edge has to win this battle.
Jono, Ben & Sharyn vs Jase & PJ
The afternoon battle
ZM’s Jase & PJ have put in a strong showing in the afternoon battle, with an audience increase of 28,700 to reach an audience of 257,500. That growth saw it overtake the previous second place holder for the 4-7pm time slot, The Rock, which fell 4800 listeners to 235,000.
However, The Edge’s Jono, Ben & Sharyn remain at the top for the time slot, with 327,700 listeners tuning in. That’s after a drop of 8,800 listeners.
Winner: Jase & PJ for an impressive overtake.
(Note: both shows are 3-7pm but these numbers reflect the audience from 4-7pm.)
Jay-Jay Dom & Randell vs Fletch, Vaughan and Megan
The battle of the trios
The battle between The Edge and ZM heats up when looking at how many people are tuning into the breakfast shows. And while it’s Jay-Jay, Dom & Randell who have a bigger audience than Fletch, Vaughan & Megan, it’s still suffered a loss.
It lost 8900 listeners to be pipped at the post by Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast (which saw a growth of 34,400 listeners) to now sit at second place with an audience of 338,000.
Meanwhile, Fletch, Vaughan & Megan have maintained their rank as fourth by growing by 12,700 listeners to reach 273,000.
More FM sits between them with 305,000 listeners.
The winner: It has to be Fletch, Vaughan & Megan for their growth while Jay-Jay, Dom & Randell went backwards.
(Note: both shows are 6-10am but these numbers reflect the audience from 6-9am.)
The Hits vs More FM
The oldies face off
They both hit a female-skewed audience, and their playlists may have a similar sound, but there’s a clear between these two stations. More FM is ranked number two with an audience of 517,400.
And despite its audience growth of 13,700, The Hits is well behind with an audience of 397,900 and a rank of eight. It’s also been overtaken by Coast, which had a growth of 47,500 to achieve a 405,300 strong audience and the seventh place rank.
Winner: More FM takes out this battle.
Mai FM vs Flava
The RnB rumble
Mai FM and Flava sit almost side by side on TRB’s Station Matrix as they reach a younger, slightly female-skewed audience with their hip hop and RnB playlists. However, they’re not as close together when comparing audience numbers as Mai FM’s ranked number nine, while Flava’s ranked number 13.
Mai FM’s growth of 33,100 is contributing to an audience of 386,800, while Flava’s 2100 new listeners are contributing to the station’s audience of 191,500.
It’s worth noting Mai FM achieved the second highest growth in the 6-9am timeslot, with a 22,900 increase taking it to 238,700 listeners. Meanwhile, Flava’s audience in the 6-9am, 9am-12pm, 12pm-4pm, 7pm-12am and 12am-6am time slots dropped.
Winner: Clearly, Mai FM took out this battle.
Radio Hauraki vs The Rock
The hardcore battle
When comparing the country’s two rock radio stations, there’s a sizeable difference between them. However, one is on the up while the other has lost listeners.
The Rock has maintained its spot at number six despite a drop of 4700 listeners. It now as an audience of 428,500.
Meanwhile, Radio Hauraki has grown by 18,600 to reach an audience of 218,400 and sits at 12th spot. That growth has been seen across all time slots, with all of them reporting an increase.
Winner: Radio Hauraki’s growth is impressive, but The Rock has to win this one.
The Breeze vs Coast
The gentlest battle you’ll ever see
Both The Breeze and Coast saw substantial growth in their audience numbers, with the latter achieving the largest growth of all radio stations with 47,500 new listeners.
It now has 405,300 listeners and is ranked seventh.
The Breeze’s growth was the third highest of all stations, with 39,700 new listeners contributing to its audience of 506,100 and third place position.
Both stations also saw big growth in their breakfast shows, with Coast seeing the second largest (26,600) of all stations. Newstalk ZB had the biggest growth with 34,400 new listeners.
Coast now has an audience of 201,800 who tune into its Breakfast with Brian Kelly show. Over on The Breeze, 16,500 new listeners are contributing to Robert & Jeanette’s audience of 262,200.
Winner: The Breeze’s growth and higher rank makes it the champion.
(Note, both Breakfast with Brian Kelly and Robert & Jeanette air from 6-10am. These numbers reflect the audience from 6-9am.)
