‘There’s a lot of negativity out there. We try and create an escape from that’: Why smooth and WSFM are dominating FM radio
It’s official – more Sydneysiders are listening to WSFM and smoothfm than any other radio station.
This past week saw WSFM top the city’s ratings for the first time ever. It tied for first place with 2UE for one survey back in 1984, ARN’s chief content officer, Duncan Campbell, tells Mumbrella, but this is its first outright ratings victory since launching in late ’78.
“I announced to the staff it’s officially WSFM day today,” he said a few hours after receiving the result.
Peter Clay, smooth’s head of programming, is similarly ecstatic. Smooth is the number one FM station in Melbourne, and second in Sydney behind WSFM, but most importantly, ahead of 2GB, which slipped to fourth overall in the last survey book and failed to recover this time around.
After a 22-year reign, spanning 160 ratings periods, Ray Hadley was also knocked from his perch as the top rating Morning show, slipping behind both ‘Ugly’ Phil O’Neil on WSFM, who leads the timeslot, and Ty Frost on smooth. Perhaps not coincidentally, Hadley announced his retirement on-air a week before his ratings slump was made public.
“Credit where credit’s due, Ray has had an incredible, successful period on 2GB,” Clay begins. “But for me, being a radio nerd, I can’t help but turn around and go, ‘Ty Frost, have an extra glass of champagne’, because to knock out someone who has literally been on top of his game – and on top of the ratings – for such a long period, it is a great feeling to see smooth up there in Mornings.
Peter Clay
Across Sydney and Melbourne, smooth has taken the top FM station six times this year. And now, WSFM has toppled not just the FM competition, but the AM talkback stations to boot.
“And Phil O’Neill beat Ray Hadley for the first time,” Campbell reminds me.
Phil O’Neill
So, why are Australians turning to what Campbell tactfully refers to as “older music format” stations? Well, he has a theory.
“Generally speaking, I think that is a reflection of the tough economic times people are going through,” he reasons. “In those times, people tend to look for things they’re familiar with that they know make them feel good. They can sing along to these songs. So, you know, smooth has done well this book, so has WS, Gold [in Melbourne] has done okay. The older format – Mix in Perth, our station in Perth 96 – has done well.”
It’s a compelling theory. I put it to Clay, who largely agrees.
“I think I’d probably extend on that. I think people just want some joy,” he says. “People want an escape, some uplifting, not just a negative or talking about the US election, talking about wars.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on, price of living, cost of living, price of petrol, everything like that, that people are really struggling with at the moment. So there’s a lot of negativity out there. We try and create an escape from that.
“And, you know, our announcers don’t do any opinionated pieces. They’re just there to turn around and do what they can to make that listener’s life a little bit better and give them an escape.”
Brendan Taylor, NOVA group programming director says the key to smooth’s success is consistency: “It’s got an emotional connection, with all presenters. It’s really pleasing that we have that connection and that loyalty with those listeners.”
Clay notes that smooth “is what it says on the tin” which also helps with building listening habits.
“Smooth is what listeners expect. We try and deliver what they would like. And really, that’s our mantra. Like, I mean, ‘more music, less talk’ is obviously something thereafter. We do everything we can to keep any sort of interruption, minimalise it and play more songs, because we know that that’s what people want. They want that escape.”
He also bristles at the idea that smooth is an oldies station.
“Years ago, Smooth started with 275,000 listeners in Sydney. And the station was this easy, relaxing feel – and it was getting more of a top end, older demo cume.” This has slowly shifted towards NOVA’s overall 25-54 “sweet spot”.
“What’s happened with Smooth – we are not based on an era. We’re not just targeting one demo. We are looking for a broader audience that actually want that environment. That feeling that smooth is based around, that’s the environment we want to create. And it’s not like a WS where, for instance, they might turn around and do, like, your pub rock and maybe a classic hits and maybe sort of try and take a bit of the Triple M audience.
“We’re more a broad spectrum music that is based on a feeling: always uplifting, not too noisy, not jarring or anything, you know? It literally just has to fit the feel of the station.”
It hasn’t escaped Clay that streaming playlist trends have mimicked the smooth format over the years, with songs grouped by ‘feel’ rather than generation or genre.
“That changed from just an era-based like, you know, ’80s, ’90s, whatever to a trance or a relaxed-style playlist. People actually turned around and said, ‘You know what I want? I just want to escape at the moment. Give me a playlist that’s like that.'”
Luckily, they can find it on the FM dial.
“They can find that on smooth,” he points out. “They don’t need to go to Spotify.”
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
Got a tip?
Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
Linkedin
Pity the penny hasn’t dropped that ARN and Nova need to launch Smooth on 97.3 in Brisbane instead of this KIIS nonsense. Smooth 97.3 would be rating 17%
User ID not verified.
Have your say