Newstalk ZB Number One

Newstalk ZB Number One

Results Deliver Continued Growth for Radio

3 May 2018 – NZME’s Newstalk ZB is on top yet again - retaining its crown as the number-one station overall across New Zealand and in Auckland, according to the results of the first 2018 GfK independent commercial radio survey.

Mike Hosking again retains his position as the number one Breakfast show - for the ninth consecutive year*.

"Summertime is traditionally more subdued for news, which makes the results for Newstalk ZB that much more pleasing," says NZME managing editor Shayne Currie. "It’s easy to be complacent about Mike Hosking’s result but his results are incredibly impressive."

Newstalk ZB has also retained its number one position in Wellington and made impressive gains in Christchurch. Currie expects this momentum to continue, ahead of a big news year.

Overall commercial radio listenership has grown by 67,400, with listeners now hitting 3.39 million^, figures which Matt Headland, NZME’s chief commercial officer says are fantastic for advertisers.

“This is a great result for radio and its continued relevance for advertising as an effective medium to reach specific demographics. We’ve had a solid start to the year, NZME continues to perform strongly in Tauranga, and is gaining momentum in Wellington and Christchurch, where we’ve worked hard to ensure we’re delivering on radio. The results are particularly pleasing for Christchurch, which is up five percentage points in market share.”

Headland says iHeartRadio has delivered incredible growth for NZME radio brands. Boasting 24% growth year on year with over 749,000 registered users and an average of 2.8 million listening hours (up 27% year on year) each month, radio listeners are definitely tuning in digitally.

“Mobile downloads of iHeartRadio are constantly increasing, now over 398,000, which is year on year growth of 118%. That’s resulted in a phenomenal result across our terrestrial brands via iHeartRadio (a 434% increase year on year). It’s a medium that advertisers are embracing because of strong audience engagement and its ability to target audience segments based on criteria such as age or location, to name two.”

NZME’s group director entertainment, Dean Buchanan says it’s the new music shows that are the stand out for him this survey.

“The changes we implemented last year are delivering and setting us up in a strong position for 2018. Specifically, I’m rapt with how our new shows are performing; The Hits Sarah Gandy, Sam Wallace and Toni Street (Sarah, Sam and Toni) continue to go from strength to strength while Brodie Kane and Dave Fitzgerald (Brodie and Fitzy) on The Hits in Christchurch are off to a flying start. Coast’s new Breakfast show with Jason Reeves and Bernadine Oliver-Kerby has proven to be a great pairing – it’s like they’ve always been on air together, while Coast stalwart Brian Kelly’s new show in Tauranga is performing extremely strongly.”

Headland believes NZME represents a strong proposition commercially; “NZME Radio and its Partners attract over two million listeners^ but when combined with our additional media platforms (print and digital), NZME reaches a sizable 3.2 million people across New Zealand.”
NZME’s Radio Survey video revealing Jason Hoyte from Radio Hauraki’s ‘results’, can be found here.
ENDS

© Scoop Media