Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) welcomes the latest GfK Survey 7 data for 2024, with commercial radio continuing to reach a weekly audience of 12.3 million, highlighting its enduring popularity amid shifting listener habits.

Commercial radio’s share of listening continues to climb, reaching 75.3%, the highest it has been in a decade.

“Radio remains an indispensable medium for delivering timely news, entertainment, and connection. The continued growth we’re seeing speaks to its deep engagement with Australian audiences,” said Lizzie Young, CRA’s Chief Executive Officer.

Notably, nearly half (49.9%) of commercial radio’s audience is now under 40 – an increasingly valuable demographic for advertisers seeking to reach the next generation.

Time spent listening (TSL) at-work for commercial radio saw a significant increase, with listening up by 1 hour and 27 minutes YOY, now averaging 12 hours and 42 minutes per week. Over 10 million listen in car each week, a 2.7% YOY rise, representing 81% of the total commercial radio audience.

Industry focus on delivering a content distribution strategy to meet audience needs means that whilst listening on AM/FM devices is still the dominant platform and accounts for 69%* of radio listening, streaming continues to surge, now reaching 3.3 million commercial radio listeners and representing over a quarter (27%) of that audience. It’s particularly resonating with younger audiences, with 33% of listeners under 25 accessing commercial radio through streaming.

“This strong performance across demographics and devices demonstrates radio’s unique ability to adapt to changing consumer preferences, maintain loyalty and grow our listener base in the demographics that matter to advertisers,” added Ms Young.

Source: GfK 360 Radio Ratings, SMBAP S7 2024, All people 10+, Mon-Sun 12mn-12mn, Cume (000’s), unless otherwise stated. Weekly Time Spent Listening (hh:mm). All numbers refer to commercial radio results unless otherwise stated.

*Calculated based on Average Audience (000s)

TOTAL RADIO 

Melbourne’s 3AW has solidified its No.1 position as the city’s go-to station, while Sydney’s 2GB dominates the talk scene in today’s GfK Radio 360 Survey 7.

Ross and Russ reign supreme across Melbourne’s airwaves in 3AW Breakfast with a commanding 20.8 share, while Tom Elliott maintains his lead in Mornings with a winning 15.7. The station overall remains unbeatable, achieving a 14.0 share.

In Sydney, 2GB retains the top spot as the city’s No.1 in Talk, delivering a 9.8 share. Ben Fordham continues to dominate in Talk across Breakfast with a 12.3 share (up 0.1), and Ray Hadley is also No.1 Talk in Mornings with 11.1.

Nine Radio’s Head of Content, Greg Byrnes, said: “Survey 7 highlights the dominance of 3AW and the trust that’s linked to talk radio at a time when the audio market has never been more competitive, particularly in Sydney.”

“Ross and Russ are unrivalled. Today’s breakfast result is extraordinary, and when you combine that with Tom Elliott, Tony Moclair and Jacqui Felgate across the day, 3AW has a rock solid foundation.

“Right across the country we aim to deliver the best news, information and opinion each and every day and are set for a strong finish to the year.”

COMMERCIAL RADIO SHARE	TOTAL RADIO CUME
15.4 (4 markets)	1.801 million listeners each week

STREAMING

Nine Radio is the undisputed No.1 destination for live audio listeners nationwide, achieving a commanding commercial streaming share of 28.1 and a cume audience of 415,000.

Sydney’s 2GB and Melbourne’s 3AW continue to dominate overall commercial streaming, securing shares of 29.5 and 28.7, respectively.

Breakfast remains a powerhouse for both stations. Ross and Russ on 2GB hold the top spot with an incredible 53.6 commercial streaming share, while Ben Fordham strengthened his No.1 position in Breakfast streaming at 2GB with a remarkable 38.7 share.

Mornings also delivered outstanding results, with Ray Hadley leading with a 34.7 commercial streaming share on 2GB, while Tom Elliott tops Melbourne with 27.0.

These results reinforce Nine Radio’s position as the nation’s premier platform for streaming live and local news, sport, entertainment and opinion.

Greg Byrnes, said: “We’ve seen big increases in listener numbers across digital devices survey to survey and year-on-year. It’s the best way to stay connected with our live and local content and the results across all sessions, but particularly in breakfast, show streaming is now part of the daily listening habits for the talk audience.”

COMMERCIAL STREAMING SHARE	STREAMING CUME
28.1	415,000

PODCASTS 

The Nine Podcast Network recorded over 1.52 million listeners and 3.8 million downloads in October 2024.

The network’s latest investigative series, Rotten Apple, debuted strongly, landing in Nine’s top 10 podcasts with 79,000 listeners and 124,000 downloads. Fan favourites The Missing Campers Trial and The Ultimate Sacrifice kept audiences hooked, attracting 64,000 and 56,000 listeners respectively. Adding to the success, Just Married: The Anthea Bradshaw Mystery earned the prestigious Best Podcast Series award at the South Australian Press Club.

Nine’s radio podcasts also delivered stellar results, with Ben Fordham Live reaching 165,000 listeners and 366,000 downloads, while The Ray Hadley Morning Show recorded 57,000 listeners and 129,000 downloads. In Melbourne, Breakfast with Ross and Russ hit 95,000 listeners and 164,000 downloads, and Mornings with Tom Elliott achieved 61,000 listeners and 144,000 downloads.

Mia Stern, Head of Podcasts and Digital Content, said: “The Nine Podcast Network results go from strength to strength, with October highlighting an 18% year-on-year growth in listeners across the network. As we expand our Originals content slate and evolve our Radio podcast strategy, we’re thrilled to be driving audience growth in Australia’s fastest-growing media channel.”

TOTAL DOWNLOADS	TOTAL LISTENERS
3.8 million	1.52 million

Source: GfK Radio360 Ratings, Survey 7 2024, Mon-Sun 5.30am-12MN, Market Share % Total, Market Share Streaming %, Commercial Streaming Share %, Cume (000s) Total and Streaming, 3AW Breakfast Mon-Fri 5.30am-8.30am, 3AW Mornings 8.30am-12pm, AP10+, Nine Radio – 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR, unless otherwise specified.

Source: Triton Podcast Metrics, September 2024, Downloads, Listeners, Nine Entertainment, unless otherwise specified.

3AW leads Melbourne’s airwaves as the city’s clear No.1 radio station.

The release of GfK Radio 360 Survey 7 results today reveal 3AW has a winning audience share of 14 (up 0.5 year-on-year) and a dominant commercial streaming share of 28.7%.

Every week, the station’s engaging blend of live, locally-focused talk radio attracts a cumulative audience of 781,000 listeners across Melbourne.

In the 25-54 demographic, 3AW has a cumulative audience of 211,000 listeners – up 14.7% on Survey 6.

Ross and Russ lead Melbourne’s breakfast radio scene with a 20.8 share – a substantial 10.1 point advantage over their closest competitor. Each week, 516,000 Melburnians listen to this award-winning team. The duo also secured an impressive 53.6% share of the commercial streaming audience.

In his seventh survey in the morning slot, Tom Elliott has solidified his position as Melbourne’s top choice, capturing a leading 15.7 share and a cumulative weekly audience of 519,000. He also leads with a commercial streaming share of 27%.

Tony Moclair is the No.1 Afternoon talk program with a 9.5 share – 5.4 points ahead of his closest talk rival.

Jacqui Felgate has strengthened her standing as Melbourne’s No.1 Drive talk program, securing an 8.9 share – her best result since taking the helm of the Drive slot. Her fresh and engaging approach to talk radio attracts 297,000 Melburnians each week.

Denis Walter is No.1 in Melbourne’s evening radio listening, holding the top spot with a 17.1 share.

Weekend Breakfast hosted by Darren James also dominates the airwaves on Saturday and Sunday mornings. 3AW Football finished the 2024 season winning every timeslot – Friday, Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday.

3AW Station Manager, Stephen Beers said: “Survey 7 reinforces 3AW’s position as Melbourne’s top radio station. Ross and Russ remain unrivalled in breakfast, while Tom Elliott commands the morning slot. We’re especially thrilled to see Jacqui Felgate achieving her highest ever share and 3AW Football finishing number one across all shifts. These results reflect the hard work of our on-air talent and the incredible teams behind the scenes. We’re immensely thankful for our loyal listeners’ continued support – something we value greatly.”

Source: GfK Radio360 Ratings, 3AW Melbourne Survey 7 2024, Mon-Sun 5.30am-12MN, Mon-Fri 5.30am-8.30am, Mon-Fri 8.30am-12pm, Mon-Fri 12pm-3pm, Mon-Fri 3pm-6pm, Mon-Thurs 8pm-12MN, Weekends 5.30am-12MN, Cume (000s), Market Share % Total Radio, Commercial Streaming share %, AP10+ , unless otherwise specified. 

LiSTNR is celebrating international recognition from the 2024 Signal Awards, which were recently announced in New York, for two of its owned and original podcast titles, Gripped: Second Son and The Briefing. Created by the Webby Awards team, the Signal Awards recognise excellence in podcasting that define culture and honour podcasts that stand out for their storytelling, production quality, creativity, and influence on audiences.

LiSTNR’s Gripped: Second Son, a gangland-crime audio fiction series, won silver for Best Scripted Fiction (Limited Series), while a special investigation into online medical certificate providers in Australia, from LiSTNR’s The Briefing, was awarded a bronze medal in the Limited Series and Specials category, which focuses on podcasts that were created to discuss or facilitate political change, public participation in civics, government policies/pursuits, or social activism.

The Signal Awards garner entrants from all over the world, are judged by experts in the field and celebrate both established and emerging voices, offering accolades for podcasting across the spectrum of creators and genres. The Signal Awards help set standards and showcase the talent within the podcasting world, underscoring the medium’s growing cultural impact. Recognition from such a prestigious international body is testament to the outstanding teams and the calibre of the storytelling from LiSTNR, which is a leader when it comes to Australian podcasts being recognised on the global stage.

“It is outstanding that LiSTNR Original podcasts continue to be recognised on the world stage,” reflected Executive Head of LiSTNR Audience and Growth, Grant Tothill. “To see the Drama team of Jennifer Goggin, Tina Matolov, Stephanie Van Schilt, Matt Nikolic, Holly Mitchell, Mat Dwyer along with Bob Campbell be rewarded for their work along with The Briefing team is credit to them and LiSTNR’s continued investment in Australian audio storytelling and journalism.

“As Australia’s number 1 podcast sales representation network* the calibre of our original content continues to grow our known audiences and. when combined with our industry-leading Adtech Hub, delivers best-in-class advertising opportunities for our clients,” continued Tothill.

LiSTNR Head of Factual, Clair Weaver, said: “The LiSTNR Factual team’s strong principles that accurate journalism, combined with powerful and immersive audio storytelling, can have a lasting impact on society, ensures we deliver our audiences compelling investigations that challenge the status quo.

“In particular, The Briefing team’s three-part investigation into online medical certificates shed light on safety issues and medical duty of care in this risky new frontier of Australia’s healthcare system. To have this type of deep, considered investigation and reporting acknowledged with such an esteemed international award is an outstanding achievement for the team and we are honoured to be recognised in this way.”

Source: *Australian Podcast Ranker – Top Sales Representatives – September 2024

About LiSTNR

LiSTNR is a curated and personalised, free app offering radio, podcasts, music, and sport, creating a new audio destination for all Australians. Featuring a fun and intuitive onboarding process, LiSTNR delivers an audio destination that is built for individual listeners’ routines and preferences. Highly personalised, it provides listeners a new world of audio entertainment, with their own daily feed of audio and easy discovery of new content through curated recommendations. Available across a large array of devices including both iOS and Android, CarPlay and Android Auto, Google Assistant and Alexa and Android TV, LiSTNR enables a fantastic listening experience, anytime and anywhere. Open your Ears to a new world of audio – download the free app today. LiSTNR.com

– MICK MOLLOY TO BE JOINED BY NICK RIEWOLDT, TITUS O’REILY AND ROSIE WALTON –

 

In another exciting announcement for Triple M, Australia’s fastest-growing radio network over the last two years*, 105.1 Triple M Melbourne is welcoming home it’s favourite son, Mick Molloy, who is returning to his hometown with a brand-new Breakfast show. Joining Mick on the new show, in what is set to be a larger-than-life, fiercely local Breakfast extravaganza, is AFL great, Nick Riewoldt, making his daily Breakfast radio debut, along with Titus O’Reily, Molloy’s long-term collaborator, including as co-host of LiSTNR’s successful podcast Bizarre with Mick Molloy and Titus O’Reily, and star of Triple M Workdays and The Hot Breakfast Rosie Walton.

The brand-new Breakfast show, Mick in the Morning with Roo, Titus & Rosie, continues Triple M’s strong local focus at Breakfast and is sure to shake up the Melbourne radio scene when it launches on Monday 20 January 2025.

Mick Molloy, one of Australia’s most loved comedians, alongside being an actor and television and radio presenter, is known for his razor-sharp and irreverent wit. Above all else, he is Triple M to his core. Molloy has been a significant presence on Australian radio, hosting popular Triple M shows including Tough Love, #1 FM Melbourne show The Hot Breakfast, Triple M’s national Drive show Kennedy/Molloy and more recently, Mick & MG in the Morning. His partnerships with fellow comedians have resulted in iconic shows including Martin/Molloy and helped establish Molloy’s enviable career in the Australian entertainment industry.

Known for his love of Australian sports, especially AFL, Molloy’s ‘not-so-saintly’ persona could spark fireworks with retired ‘Saint’ Nick Riewoldt, who never shies away from sharing his opinions, especially when it comes to footy. Riewoldt, who has become a proven media star since retiring from his exceptional AFL career with the St Kilda Football Club, is returning home to Melbourne with his wife and young family following a two-year stint in Texas, USA. During his time overseas Riewoldt remained connected to the Australian media landscape thanks to his weekly appearances on LiSTNR’s Footy Talk podcast, and he even captured the attention of ESPN, who featured him in its 2023 and 2024 Super Bowl television coverage.

On his return to Melbourne radio, Molloy said: “I’m excited to be back behind the mic in my hometown, talking about all things Melbourne, with some of my favourite people every morning. There’s a fair chance that the Tigers may come up from time to time; what could possibly go wrong?”

Riewoldt said: “After two rewarding years in Houston, Texas with Cath’s family, I’m excited to be returning home to Melbourne joining Mick and the Triple M Breakfast team back where it all started for me on radio.  Triple M is a vibrant part of Melbourne’s heartbeat, celebrating the city’s spirit, its music, and its people. To be bringing the sounds and stories of Melbourne to life every day through our listeners is a privilege I don’t take for granted.”

SCA Chief Content Officer, Dave Cameron said: “The opportunity to ask Mick to return to headline Triple M Melbourne’s new Breakfast show was simply too good to resist, and to hear him back on ‘home turf’ just feels right. Additionally, locking Nick Riewoldt in to join Triple M permanently upon his exciting return from overseas is a real coup. Both Mick and Nick have huge love in Melbourne, and this new Breakfast show is destined to become one of the city’s biggest and most exciting local shows. We know how much Melbourne radio listeners just want Melbourne radio personalities at Breakfast, and this show will dial that love up even more.”

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to put together this all-star line up of Mick, Nick, Titus and Rosie, just for Melbourne. 2025 on the Triple M network continues to get more exciting by the day.”

The Mick in the Morning with Roo, Titus & Rosie Breakfast show kicks off on 20 January 2025, from 6-9am weekdays, on 105.1 Triple M Melbourne and LiSTNR.

A further announcement regarding Triple M Sydney Breakfast in 2025 will be made soon.

 

Source:  GfK Metro Surveys 6-8 2022/Surveys 1-8 2023/Surveys 1-6 2024.  P10+, Mon-Sun ROS, Average Year Cume Reach (000’s).

About Triple M:

For more than 40 years, Triple M continues to be one of Australia’s best-known radio entertainment brands and the only radio network that provides its listeners with a unique combination of Rock’s Greatest Hits, Sport and Comedy. With 49 stations across Australia, including DAB+ stations, Triple M 80s, Triple M 90s, Triple M 2000s, Triple M Almost Acoustic, Triple M Classic Rock and Triple M Country, Triple M has become known for playing the greatest hits, good times and its iconic talent and shows that get people talking.

About Mick Molloy:

A genuine radio powerhouse, Molloy has spent the better part of the last three decades with SCA, including 20 years with Triple M, building many of its legendary shows including Martin/Molloy, the no. 1 daytime show* Tough Love, seven years on Melbourne’s #1 FM Breakfast show** The Hot Breakfast, three years in the Triple M Drive slot with Jane Kennedy, a year with his national Molloy Drive program, which was regularly no. 1 nationally for men aged 25-54***, and for the past two years hosting Triple M Sydney’s Breakfast show. Molloy is also the host of the Seven Network’s hugely popular and AACTA-winning sports entertainment show, The Front Bar.

Manager of ABC Classic and Jazz, Kat McGuffie, has announced she will leave the ABC later this month after more than a decade working at the networks.

Kat joined the ABC in 2013 as Live Music Producer for ABC Classic, first in Adelaide and then Melbourne. She held roles at ABC Classic as Content Director and Executive Producer before taking on the Manager role of ABC Classic and Jazz in 2022.

During her time with the ABC, Kat has led content initiatives aimed at finding new audiences for classical music including producing Clarke’s Classics which won an ARIA Award for Best Comedy release and The Classic Road Trip which took listeners on a 5000km journey from Darwin across regional Australia, concluding at the childhood home of Sir Don Bradman co-hosted by Greta Bradman and Russell Torrance.

Kat conceived some of ABC Classic’s longstanding specialist programs including Duet, Passenger, Legends, Game Show and the popular Mindful Music.

In 2022, she led the station’s most successful Classic 100 and the network’s unique collaboration with Gardening Australia for the Classic Choir campaign. In 2023 Kat worked with ABC TV on the first Classic 100 in Concert.

Kat’s advocacy for gender equity in music drove her to launch the Women of Jazz Fest and expand ABC Classic’s Festival of Female Composers. Kat’s commitment to broadening representation in music has driven the station’s evolution in programming and presentation, work for which she was awarded the CollArts Creative Leadership Award at the 2024 Australian Women in Music Awards last month.

Outside the ABC, Kat is an accomplished composer and arts manager and serves as Director on the Board of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.

Kat said: “It has been an absolute privilege working with the talented teams at ABC Classic and Jazz to serve listeners and represent the distinctive Australian classical and jazz industries. I’ll miss the ABC greatly, but after a decade, it’s time to further my work in engaging and developing audiences beyond the ABC.”

Director of Audio Ben Latimer said: “I’d like to thank Kat for her contributions to the ABC and the classical and jazz music industry.

“In her time with the ABC, Kat has consistently been a passionate advocate for classical music in Australia and has supported the industry to grow and develop new talent to continue to drive quality and innovation.”

The ABC will shortly begin recruitment for a Head of ABC Classic and Jazz and Content Director ABC Classic and Jazz.

Community broadcasters have been recognised for their role supporting communities in the pandemic by the Australian Governments Covid-19 Response Inquiry Report. The CBAA made submissions to the Commonwealth Government COVID-19 Response Inquiry Taskforce about the sector’s role during the pandemic and future changes that could strengthen community resilience to health crises. 

The report highlights media organisations as important in reaching specific audiences. It calls out community broadcasters and local news organisations as vital – ‘community broadcasters served as vital information source for people in regional and remote Australia; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; culturally and linguistically diverse, youth communities and older Australians’.  

During the beginning of the pandemic 16 March and 7 May 2020, over 30,000 plays of government health messages were broadcast by community broadcasters, reaching a potential audience of approximately 1,578,000 listeners weekly. 

The recognition heralds community broadcasters as a critical platform for ensuring all Australians have equal access rights to government information, messaging and resources during emergencies.