Is disruption the key to radio ratings?
It's a cereal thriller as the big names return to the Breakfast airwaves.
Anyone who picked up a copy of The Sunday Mail today (January 19) would have learnt a few things about Brisbane radio — but perhaps not as much as they need to know.
Full-page advertisements for 4BC and Nova reveal:
Even media professionals find it difficult to smile convincingly for the camera.
The names and faces of the people will be on air on those two stations to kick off 2025.
What the ads don’t reveal is:
How to find the stations on an AM/FM radio — that is, they don’t advertise the frequencies. Yes, I know many people use DAB+ and online devices that identify radio stations by their names, but — especially in the case of 4BC, which has an older audience and changed its frequency a few years ago — I think this detail is still relevant.
What time the Nova show is actually on air.
How it is that 4BC, one of Brisbane’s oldest commercial broadcasters, is somehow “new”. (Oldtimers may remember that they were also “the new 4BC” late last century). Even Fegan’s show doesn’t “start tomorrow” as the advert says; he was in the role for several months before Christmas.
That both stations — again, especially 4BC — are desperate for a ratings boost this year.
The ads are not the only mentions the stations have received in the mainstream media over the past few days.
Newscorp mastheads news.com.au, The Courier-Mail’s QWeekend magazine and The Sunday Mail/ couriermail.com.au have published quite good articles about the radio scene.
Among their revelations is that Nikki Osborne, a comedian and online influencer, has been hired to “disrupt” Brisbane radio. She says she plays her own rules*. It’s no wonder Ashley Bradnam and David “Luttsy” Lutteral — who have built up a big audience at Nova over more than 20 years but have slipped a little in recent times as the B105 Breakfast behemoth starring Stav Davidson, Abby Coleman and Matt Action consolidates its lead in the market — look a little nervous in that photo.
Osborne has said she will continue living on the Sunshine Coast but may get a place in Brisbane if the commute gets too much. I suggest she does that quickly, because (in my opinion) local radio works best when you live and breathe the market you are serving. How can you speak passionately or even convincingly about public transport failures, the dining and entertainment scene, local characters or quirky stuff that happens in the suburbs when you’re never actually here?
Apparently, Nova will be running a competition offering $1,000 to listeners who hear her “accidentally” swear on air. That’s disingenuous. If there’s a promotions budget to give away money, then the money will be given away — so there will be nothing accidental about the swearing. From a personal view, I’d ask: why make a game out of the introduction of profanity during many listeners’ morning school run? Here’s a tip: be engaging and entertaining without it!
Meanwhile, news reports also suggest that Peter Fegan at 4BC is on a six-month deadline to produce ratings results. As I’ve reported at some length, ratings at 4BC are at their lowest level I (and others) can remember.
Fegan and his colleagues have a lot of work to do but can it all be turned around in six months? Would it be a good idea to make another change in the Breakfast shift so soon after axing Laurel Edwards, Gary Clare and Mark Hine late last year? Have they done any serious market research that will inform their approach? And, if they are going to make a change, should it be to the format not just the talent? Stay tuned.
The Sunday Mail is also reporting that the addition of Corey Oates to the KIIS Breakfast team could exacerbate the “frosty dynamic” between existing hosts Robin Bailey and Kip Wightman, bringing forward station owner ARN’s grand plan of networking Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson into Brisbane.
Rumour also has it that this may be the last year on air for Triple M’s Greg “Marto” Martin. People have been saying that for a long time and each year it gets closer to being true, I suppose.
Of course, looming large over all the main players is the biggest question of all: How much longer can we sustain so many stations in an era where free-to-air radio has so much competition?
*Perhaps Osborne she hasn’t heard of the media watchdog ACMA — but why should she care since it’s a toothless tiger.
Disclosure: Brett Debritz has been around a bit, and worked at News Corp and Nine Radio. It’s possible that he knows more than he’s letting on. Or the opposite.