Canberra's radio ratings are in... - The Canberra Times

Triple J breakfast hosts Alex Dyson and Tom Ballard.

Youth radio station Triple J has made big gains in Canberra as commercial station 104.7 remains No.1 despite some significant losses in its audience share, according to the latest survey.

It also shows 666 ABC, once the top-rating station in Canberra, is struggling to hold onto even third spot in the national capital, with Triple J hard on its heels.

The results come as a new system of compiling radio ratings is due to start next year, with Canberra to have three surveys a year, up from two surveys a year. Online monitoring of radio listening habits will also be introduced.

Scotty Masters and Nigel Johnson aka Scotty and Nige from 104.7 are still atop the breakfast radio tree in Canberra.

Scotty and Nige aka Scotty Masters and Nigel Johnson from 104.7 remained in the top position for the all-important breakfast slot, again relegating Ross Solly on 666 to second spot.

Huge gains by Triple J has meant it has almost relegated 666 ABC to fourth spot overall in Canberra.

Canberra FM Radio had both leading stations - 104.7 with a 19.3 per cent share and 106.3 with a 14.7 per cent share. 666 came in third with a 13.9 per cent, just ahead of Triple J with a 13 per cent share, up from 8.1 per cent.

In breakfast, Triple J, with Tom Ballard and Alex Dyson, also moved into third spot (11 per cent), pushing MIX 106.3 to fourth (10.2 per cent).

Scotty and Nige on 104.7 had the highest audience share for breakfast with 22.8 per cent, up by 0.3 percentage point from the last survey released in April. 666 ABC breakfast presenter Ross Solly was second, with 16.8 per cent share, down 1.1 percentage points.

666 ABC Canberra generally had losses across every weekday time slot with its local presenters but its syndicated programs did better.

Evenings on 666, for example, increased its share by 8.1 percentage points to 23.2 per cent, making it a clear winner. The evenings timeslot from 7pm to midnight is covered on 666 by the syndicated shows Evenings with Dominic Knight and Nightlife with Tony Delroy.

Triple J increased its audience share across all timeslots in Canberra including almost doubling its share of afternoons (noon to 4pm) from 7.7 per cent to 14.7 per cent, with Lewis McKirdy at the helm at lunchtimes.

Triple J's share of Canberra listeners aged 18 to 24 and 25 to 39 also increased dramatically, with jumps of 12.5 percentage points and 10 per cent respectively.

That growth for Triple J appears to have come largely at the expense of 104.7 which saw its share of listeners aged 18 to 24 fall by 15.5 percentage points and 25 to 30 fall by 8.8 per cent.

Canberra FM Radio general manager Eoghan O'Byrne said this survey had been a "mixed-bag" for the company but it was still pleased where it stood in the national capital.

"We're still in the enviable position of having both our stations sitting at over 190,000 people listening which is nearly 52 per cent of the market, so we're pretty happy about that," Mr O'Byrne said.

Despite the losses for local weekday 666 programs, ABC Local Content Manager, ACT Andrea Ho said in a statement that "we're pleased to see gains in 666's reach in the Canberra market, and to be tracking steadily over time in our key audience parts".

"The suite of ABC Radio stations are also performing strongly, and it's great to see we're meeting Canberra listeners interests with our varied offer," Ms Ho said.

"The team at 666 loves what it does and remains focused on delivering the best in local content. We're grateful Canberra listeners recognise that commitment by tuning to us in such strong numbers.”

This survey was taken between July 28 and August 24, with three-quarters of the sample surveyed via a hard-copy diary and a quarter through phone interviews.

Commercial Radio Australia has announced that from January 1 GfK will be conducting radio surveys, ending a 66-year relationship with Nielsen.

The change means Canberra will have three rather than two surveys a year.

The new system will also introduce an e-diary for computers, tablets and mobile phones to be used in a minimum of 20 per cent of listeners in the sample.

Commercial Radio Australia chief executive officer Joan Warner said e-diaries had been "met with high levels of acceptance among listeners both overseas and also in trials conducted for CRA in Australia in 2012".

"People's increasing use of technology has meant listeners are now more willing to record their listening habits online and while on the go," she said.