The titans of commercial radio are taking a hit - and its coming from Triple J, the ABC's "alternative" music station that is fast becoming mainstream, upending the latest radio ratings with a national triumph among the industry's most coveted listeners.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Amid all the radio industry talk about big names on big-buck contracts brought in to win the fierce battle for listeners and advertiser dollars - with Hamish Blake and Andy Lee the latest superstars to bring their drawing power back to the airwaves - Triple J is turning out to be one of the biggest headaches of all.
In the latest ratings survey of the year, released on August 25, the ABC network scored a national first - coming out equal or on top in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in advertisers' coveted 25-39 listener age bracket and giving its commercial rivals something to think about in the 18-24 grouping as well.
In Sydney, Triple J scored a 3.5 per cent leap survey-to-survey to share the lead in 25-39 listeners on 15 per cent; in Melbourne, the station was up almost 2 per cent to lead its nearest rival hit101.9 Fox FM by 3.5 per cent; in Brisbane, a dramatic leap of almost 5 per cent from the previous survey put Triple J ahead of second-placed Nova 106.9; in Adelaide, a 3 per cent rise put the station three points up on its nearest rival; and in Perth, Triple J had a 3 per cent lead.
The numbers, along with other ratings results this year, suggest something is afoot in radio land.
For Triple J, the numbers suggest some 2015 personnel changes and heavy media focus on its two big events of the year - the Hottest 100 countdown and it's recent Splendour in the Grass festival coverage - are paying dividends. The Hottest 100 this year became a huge story when a campaign to have Taylor Swift's Shake It Off included drew international attention.
But there are hints in the broader ratings results that listeners have been on an industry-shifting dial twiddle in 2015, perhaps prompted by a raft of major personnel changes across the FM networks - with new or rebooted programs in the key Breakfast and Drive slots prompting audiences to experiment with new sounds and hosts.
One of the radio stories of the year has been the remarkable success of low-profile smooth fm, which is at the opposite end of the musical spectrum from Triple J but whose middle-of-the-road music programming and roster of celebrity DJs has seen the station surge to now reign as Sydney's number one FM station and also in the mix amid a tight FM race in Melbourne.
The concern for the big-spending heavyweights such as Fox, Nova and MMM is that a station like smooth is scoring big numbers at a fraction of the budget - while Triple J is busy hijacking their listeners to a platform that broadcasts no commercials at all. It's a phenomenon that will have advertisers and station managers scratching their heads for the rest of the radio year.
