Source : THE AGE NEWS
Talkback network 2GB will be relieved with signs there is life beyond Ray Hadley after the shock jock’s replacement, Mark Levy, delivered a market-leading 15 per cent audience share on Thursday morning.
Levy, a former sports broadcaster, was appointed as the new Mornings host last year when Hadley stepped down after leading Sydney radio ratings for two decades.
2GB Mornings host Mark Levy had his best survey to date.Credit: Steven Siewert
His show was the beneficiary of a 2 percentage point jump, while station-mate Ben Fordham continued to lead in the breakfast slot, up 1.2 percentage points to a 15.4 per cent share. 2GB is owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead.
Just one day after Kyle Sandilands, of The Kyle and Jackie O Show, threatened on air to take the pair’s show off the airwaves in Melbourne if audiences didn’t start listening in droves, the pair’s share suffered a dip in their native Sydney.
The show fell to a 12.3 per cent share, down from 13.3 per cent, yet remained the clear number one FM show for the 50th ratings survey in a row. In Melbourne, the show had its most significant jump to date, rising to 5.8 per cent audience share.
“We’re not going to super serve Melbourne and ignore our Sydney audience,” Sandilands said. “Here’s something I haven’t even discussed with Jackie … if we don’t rate better by the end of this year, I’m pulling the carpet out. I’ll just take the show off Melbourne.”
Overall, it was a survey of few surprises in Sydney, which included the period from February 9 to April 12, with a week’s break in the middle.
Several years of shaky results for ABC Radio Sydney continued on Thursday morning, with its audience share dropping to 6.3 per cent overall.
There was audience and staff uproar when the station removed its Mornings host Sarah Macdonald at the end of 2024, to be replaced by Hamish Macdonald, though he is yet to make the strides the station’s new management might have liked.
Macdonald’s show netted a 6.2 per cent share, down from 6.4 per cent in the first survey of 2025. New Drive host Chris Bath also delivered a 6.5 per cent share, down from 7.2 per cent.
Radio National’s revamped breakfast show had a marginal rise of 0.1 percentage point, albeit off a low base of 1 per cent share.
