ABC 720 takes bite of breakfast segment

THE sixth radio rating’s survey for 2001 reveals a new war smouldering in breakfast, radio’s traditional battleground.

While Mix 94.5 remains the clear market leader, 96FM and the All New 92.9 are still jostling for second place from survey to survey.

Gary Shannon has got his nose just ahead of the competition this survey after a gain of just 0.7 per cent.

ABC 720 has emerged as one of the big winners in the breakfast session, gaining 2.1 per cent, the third consecutive gain for the Eoin Cameron’s show.

The strong ratings figures have vindicated the ABC’s decision to pick up Mr Cameron after he departed from 6PR.

In contrast to the success of the ABC breakfast show, 6PR’s bid to attract a more youthful audience with Baz and Barra has failed to deliver strong ratings or a larger share of the volatile 18 to 39-year old demographic.

Mr Cameron’s age was a big issue when he left 6PR but the ratings result prove not only his popularity but also the strength of the 55-plus market to shape ratings results.

And in an extremely tough advertising market, ratings are speaking even louder than usual.

The Baby Boomers have followed Mr Cameron to ABC 720 and the sheer weight of numbers supports the station’s strong ratings results.

The stations that are pitched at the youth market, such as Triple J, must endure big swings in their ratings as a result of this highly volatile and mobile market.

Mix 94.5 seems unlikely to move from the top spot any time soon. In this survey the station made gains across all demographics in all sessions, attracting 22 per cent of the market – a whopping 5.5 per cent ahead of its closest rival.