‘We’re at the bottom of the cycle’ says HitFM boss, as rebrand fails to deliver ratings lift
SCA’s Bruce
Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) has defended its rebranding of the Today Network to HitFM after the first ratings of the year showed declines in Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth and no audience recovery in Sydney.
The first GFK radio ratings of 2015 showed declines in audience in four out of five markets with Sydney the only city to hold steady despite a major marketing blitz, although Dan and Maz remain at the bottom of the breakfast ladder with just a three point share. Melbourne’s Hit FoxFM declined 0.9 points to a 7.6 share, Adelaide Hit 101.7 fell 2.2 points, Brisbane Hit105 fell 0.4 points and Perth’s Hit 92.9 fell 1.8 points raising serious questions about the strategy, which has seen SCA dump historic brands such the old SAFM brand in Adelaide B105 in Brisbane, and 2DayFm brand in Sydney in favour of the move to HitFM.
“This result reinforces that we are on a long road and things don’t change overnight,” Craig Bruce, head of content for SCA told Mumbrella this morning. “This is how radio works – it is a cycle. Right now we are at the bottom of our cycle but we believe we are on our way up. I absolutely believe that to be true.”
Does Campbell work for SCA or ARN? The author seems confused…
Hi Josh,
Campbell is with ARN. My mistake now corrected.
Cheers
Nic – Mumbrella.
Great article
I remember last year SCA were saying the same thing about giving the failed breakfast show time to grow
Really sad this network and it’s flagship station 2dayFm have been allowed to sink so low.
Bring back Today and make it your national brand. Hits is terrible. It’s not at all ownable.
It’s not a hard decision.
it was always going to be tough for the arrogant SCA culture above to handle failure and the above article showcases that.
This is a time for admitting mistakes, being prescriptive with a plan and not sugar coating the underperformance.
There are a lot of people in that business who still believe everything is traveling along nicely because that’s what they hear from the top
C’mon guys lets hear your honest and transparent view so we can get on board with you!
This is sad, but inevitable. There is more at play here than programming and branding finesse. The quote is old, but still rings true: What goes on in the corridors goes up the mast (the transmitter).
” Right now we are at the bottom of our cycle but we believe we are on our way up”
If he knows that he should know the tattslotto numbers too.
Seems like 2Day FM’s do anything culture has come back to bite them.
After years of scandals etc etc, they are now paying the price.
A word of advice to the management there, instead of spending big bucks covering the back of buses with ads for an unlistenable breakfast show, get someone with an ear for good radio to listen and fix it up .
For a start stop the hosts laughing loudly at their own jokes, and cut the repetition of mindless dance tracks..
While Dan and Maz may have some talent, whoever is allowing their content to get to air, should be looking for a new gig.
All the content guys and management that let Kyle and Jackie O need to go. They have lost shareholders confidence and hence listeners confidence in the Sydney market. Time for a clean slate. This must start at the top.
OK everyone stop panicking. I am a shareholder in SCA and I am sure they have a Plan C read to roll………………………….