- Outgoing talkback king drops to third in latest radio ratings
- Popular WSFM duo Brendan Jones and Amanda Keller rise to first place
- Kyle and Jackie O take the Sydney breakfast show crown again
- Controversial combo fails to gain more traction in Melbourne market
Once unbeatable talk titan Ray Hadley will end his long run on 2GB on a low note after being knocked off the top spot in the ratings for the first time in two decades.
The veteran broadcaster’s morning show fell to third place in the latest radio poll, released on Thursday, ending its record reign in the critical Sydney time slot dating back to 2003.
Brendan Jones and Amanda Keller’s hit morning show, Jonesy and Amanda, on Pure Gold Network’s flagship WSFM outlet took pole position after attracting 12.7 percent of the available audience after increasing 0.5 percentage points.
Hadley had enjoyed an undefeated 160 ratings poll until this week, when his show fell 1.3 percentage points, earning 11.1 percent share, coming in third behind smoothfm 95.3 with 11.2 percent. the audience.
The shocking result comes just a week after Hadley announced that she would hang up her 2GB mic for the last time at the end of the ratings season on December 13 despite having two years left on her multimillion-dollar contract.
The drop will create major headaches for Nine Radio’s top executives who are already eager to retain Hadley’s audience in the highly profitable 9am to 12pm slot.
The slip-up also comes at a critical time for 2GB, as 2SM’s new owners plan to exploit the dominant station’s vulnerability to try to attract a large share of Nine’s radio audience and advertising revenue.
Ray Hadley’s morning show has lost ratings for the first time in more than two decades, less than a week after he announced his resignation from radio at the end of the year.
Popular WSFM duo Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones have taken the top spot in the crucial morning radio slot in the fiercely competitive Sydney radio market.
The low-profile station’s management has already been in talks with a group of former 2GB stars to join the outlet, in a move that would pit them against their former paymasters.
Former 2GB presenters Chris Smith, Jason Morrison and Deb Knight have been spotted at 2SM’s Sydney headquarters, along with former Seven Breakfast TV star Melissa Doyle.
Elsewhere, in the tight Sydney breakfast show slot, 2GB’s Ben Fordham finished second again behind Kyle and Jackie O, although the duo failed to make further inroads in the Melbourne market with their audience share stagnant by about 5.1 percent. behind 20 percent of 3AW.
Daily Mail Australia revealed that just hours after revealing he was quitting Nine Radio, Hadley was seen in secret talks with Sky News Australia about a possible move to the political news channel.
Sources said Hadley arrived at the news channel’s Sydney headquarters for the undercover chat on Thursday night last week, after most of the station’s staff had already gone home for the weekend. day.
He then spent more than an hour in deep conversation with the News Corp-owned network’s chief executive, Paul Whittaker, and head of programmes, Mark Calvert.
TV boss Paul Whittaker is determined to lure Hadley to Sky News Australia
Sky News Australia insiders said the network was determined to appeal to the award-winning broadcaster – and its loyal audience – with Whittaker personally rolling out the red carpet for the potential marquee signing.
Although Hadley’s contract is understood to prevent him from appearing on a rival radio network, sources said he could be free to join Sky News Australia under the terms of the deal as the TV channel does not compete directly with Nine Radio.
Any deal between Hadley and the network would likely see him take a break over the summer to spend time with his family before beginning his on-air duties in the new year.
Sources said Hadley’s strong political views actually meant he had long been more in tune with the sensibilities of Sky News Australia than those of Nine and would be a natural fit for the network.
Deborah Knight is among the former 2GB hosts that new 2SM management hopes to sign in a bid to take on the current market leaders.
There are suggestions that the potential deal could also see rugby league, commentating very well, continue to call football matches for Fox Sports.
Sources within Nine have said network executives would look for an established radio star to replace Hadley in the highly competitive slot.
Fordham has become an early favorite to be tasked with winning over Hadley’s audience, having successfully replaced Jones in the breakfast show’s equally important slot four years ago.
The only downside is that the chain would have to find a replacement for the award-winning Fordham at breakfast.
Mark Levy, who currently hosts the late night show Wide World of Sports six nights a week, is another key contender, although there is speculation the station could even try to steal Jonesy and Amanda’s show.