Will Kyle and Jackie O Give Mix106.5 the KIIS of Life?

Home , 2Day FM, Jules Lund, Kyle Sandilands, Merrick Watts

Article No. 5379 Available on www.roymorgan.com Link to Roy Morgan Profiles

Thursday, 16 January 2014 Will Kyle and Jackie O give Mix106.5 the KIIS of life?

Monday 20 January promises to be a massive day for Sydney breakfast radio. For those who’ve been living in a cave in Outer Mongolia (or outside Sydney, as the case may be!), that’s the date long-time 2Day FM breakfast DJs Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O start their new show at rival station Mix106.5 FM. It’s also the date Mix106.5 FM will be rebranded as KIIS

FM. So will these major changes have the desired effect for Mix, boosting both their audience and advertising revenue? Roy Morgan investigates…

The total Sydney radio market comprises almost 3.9 million people. According to data from Roy Morgan Research, market leader 2Day’s total audience comprises 15% of this (568,000 people), well ahead of Mix106.5’s 10% market share (393,000 people). With 506,000 listeners, or 13% market share, Nova 96.9 FM has Sydney’s second-largest commercial audience.

Battle of the breakfasters

Breakfast (5.30–9am) is traditionally one of commercial radio’s most competitive timeslots, and has been dominated in Sydney by Southern Cross Austereo-owned 2Day FM’s Kyle and Jackie O Show for years. In the 12 months to September 2013, 349,000 Sydneysiders (or 9% of the city’s total radio market) listened to the show at least once in any given seven-day period.

2Day, Mix106.5 and Nova 96.9: total vs breakfast audience numbers 600 568

506

IMMEDIATERELEASE 500

393 400

FOR 349

300 262

Audience('000) 206 200

100

0 2Day FM Mix 106.5 Nova 96.9

Total Audience Breakfast Show Audience

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), October 2012-September 2013 (n = 10,135). Base: Sydney population 14+

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In contrast, Mix 106.5’s breakfast show, hosted by Yumi Styles and Sami Lukis, attracted 206,000 listeners (or 5% of Sydney’s radio market) in an average seven days. Again, DMG Radio-owned Nova 96.9 took second place, with 262,000 listeners (or 7%) choosing Fitzy and Wippa for their breakfast radio fix.

Same time, similar stations

Yet despite the differences in listener numbers, 2Day and Mix106.5 (part of the Australian Radio Network) share many similarities. Both are heavily commercial, relentlessly ‘fun’ and celebrity-focused, with high-profile DJs and listener competitions — and, not surprisingly, their audiences do tend to cross over. (As of September 2013, 26% of Mix106.5’s listeners were tuning in to Kyle and Jackie O on 2Day FM in an average week, and 16% of 2Day’s breakfast

listeners were returning the favour.)

And the parallels don’t end there: female listeners account for 61% of 2Day’s and 62% of E E Mix106.5’s respective breakfast audiences. Thirty-seven percent of both 2Day’s and Mix106.5’s breakfast listeners are aged between 35 and 49, while a quarter of each station’s breakfast audience falls into the 25–34 bracket. And with KIIS slated to become more Top 40-oriented upon its relaunch, the two stations’ playlists are likely to converge more than ever, too.

2Day FM and Mix106.5 FM: key age/gender breakdown of breakfast listeners 30% 25% 25% 24%

20% 17% 15% 13% 15% 12%

audience 10% 10% 8%

5% Percentagebreakfast stations' of 0% 2Day FM Mix 106.5 2Day FM Mix 106.5 25 - 34 years 35 - 49 years

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), October 2012-September 2013 (n = 10,135). Base: Sydney population 14+

FOR FOR IMMEDIATERELEAS And the crucial point of difference amid all these similarities? You guessed it: the dynamic (some might say detestable) duo.

The bad boy factor

Kyle and Jackie O’s reputation for controversy is well documented and goes far beyond the good-humoured pranks and jokes usually associated with commercial breakfast radio. An unapologetic ‘shock jock’ who polarises Australian audiences, Sandilands’ arrival at Mix106.5/KIIS may well prompt some listeners to jump ship — with close rival Nova FM, not to mention high-rating talk radio station 2GB, well placed to benefit.

However, given The Kyle and Jackie O Show’s longstanding stranglehold of Sydney’s commercial breakfast radio ratings, it’s likely that the audience the contentious pair brings to KIIS will more than compensate for any listener migration.

George Pesutto, General Manager — Media and Communications, Roy Morgan Research, says:

“The next few months are going to be critical for the new KIIS FM, as their new breakfast team settles in and Sydneysiders choose who to listen to on their morning commute.

“Will Kyle and Jackie O’s fans follow them to their new home as expected, or will they give 2Day’s new breakfast line-up (featuring Mel B, Sophie Monk, Jules Lund and Merrick Watts) a go? Will Mix106.5’s listeners give KIIS the flick?

“No doubt the crossover between the stations’ breakfast audiences will remain, but the big question is whether KIIS’s market share will increase as hoped. Considering the

E E marquee value of their new signing, it’s extremely likely that Kyle and Jackie O’s presence will set the rebranded station on the path to a truly successful new era — even with the occasional high-profile on-air gaffe!

“Not only does KIIS’s breakfast audience stand to grow, but the station’s advertising revenue will almost certainly receive a welcome boost, attracting a bigger slice of the hundreds of millions of dollars currently spent on radio, as marketers jump aboard the Kyle and Jackie juggernaut.”

For comments or more information please contact: George Pesutto General Manager — Media and Communications Office: +61 (3) 9224 5206 [email protected]

Related research reports

View our extensive range of Radio Listener Profiles, including 2Day FM, Mix106.5 FM, 96.9 Nova FM and more. These profiles provide a broad understanding of the target audience, in terms of demographics, FOR FOR IMMEDIATERELEAS attitudes, activities and media usage in Australia.

About Roy Morgan Research

Roy Morgan Research is the largest independent Australian research company, with offices in each state of Australia, as well as in New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom. A full service research organisation specialising in omnibus and syndicated data, Roy Morgan Research has over 70 years’ experience in collecting objective, independent information on consumers.

In Australia, Roy Morgan Research is considered to be the authoritative source of information on financial behaviour, readership, voting intentions and consumer confidence. Roy Morgan Research is a specialist in recontact customised surveys which provide invaluable and effective qualitative and quantitative information regarding customers and target markets.

Margin of Error

The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be

95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.

Sample Size Percentage Estimate 40%-60% 25% or 75% 10% or 90% 5% or 95% 5,000 ±1.4 ±1.2 ±0.8 ±0.6 7,500 ±1.1 ±1.0 ±0.7 ±0.5 10,000 ±1.0 ±0.9 ±0.6 ±0.4 20,000 ±0.7 ±0.6 ±0.4 ±0.3 50,000 ±0.4 ±0.4 ±0.3 ±0.2

E E FOR FOR IMMEDIATERELEAS