The first ratings for 2017 are now out: http://www.radioitsalovething.com.au/RIALT/media/RIALT/PDF/GfK_SummaryReport_Gold-Coast-Survey-1-2017.pdf
Hot Tomato, whilst maintaining its #1 position, has had a big jump in the ratings, going up 4.5% to finish at 18.4%, placing themselves way ahead of the SCA stations Gold FM (12%) & Sea FM (11.2%), who both fell from the previous survey. In the demographics, Sea is #1 in the 18-24s, whilst Hot Tomato is #1 in the 10-17s, 25-39s & 40-54s, whilst Gold is #1 in the 55-64s. Interestingly, RN is #1 in the 65+.
In breakfast, Hot Tomato’s Flan & Emily Jade with Christo dominates with a 19.1% share, way ahead of Sea FM’s Heather, Dan & Ben with 11.7% & Gold FM’s Bridge & Spida with 11.4%. In drive, Hot Tomato’s Galey, Mal & Moyra dominated with 20.3%, followed by Hamish & Andy on Sea FM with 14.2%, Veronica & Lewis on JJJ with 11.4%, whilst The Luke Bradnam Show on Gold FM (networked from 4MMM) only gets single figures at 9.3%. In evenings, The Greatest Years in Music, followed by Talking Back The Night on Gold FM could only manage a 5.8% share, way behind that of Hot Tomato (13.3%) & Sea FM (11.8%).
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Gee Hot Tomato is absolutely killing them. Great to see an adult MUSIC focused station wiping the floor with “Triple M” Gold FM. 
Might be a message in there for SCA.
Talking Lifestyle 0.1%. Let’s call it zero.
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The independent station beats the Hit and Gold / Triple M formats. I suppose that Hot Tomato has one advantage over the SCA “same as same as” stations.
Hot Tomato is local. It belongs to the Gold Coast. It’s the 4GG of 2017.
It actually highlights what NewFM in Newcastle could be doing to Hit1069 and KOFM.
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Yes exactly. Living in SEQ I can vouch for Hot Tomato being seen very much as local - with Gold and Sea seen as heavily networked. It’s not the only factor of course but it is a major factor.
Stations like New FM in Newcastle, and HO FM Hobart should take note of Hot Tomato’s success.
The same can be said for Star 104.5 on the NSW’s Central Coast, who also competes with the 2 local SCA stations (2GO & Sea FM) & are seen as the most local sounding of the commercial stations in the region. In last year’s survey, Star outrated 2GO in the overall ratings, likewise for 7HO outrating Heart (now Triple M) in last year’s Hobart ratings survey.
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7HOFM is already doing very well against the SCA stations.
If only Rebel FM and Breeze FM were included in the survey they would take a large chunk of the “other stations” percentage.
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Last survey (3/2016), all stations surveyed 72.5%.
This time: 74.6%
So those who’ve given Gold the ditch due to their change in music format by targeting an audience 20 years younger than 2016 have likely shifted between the stations listed rather than off to 94.1, Jowitt’s stations or Bill’s Radio 97.
Anecdotal observations of workplaces consisting of predominately 40+ workforce (virtually all of the many small businesses of the Gold Coast) who used to be welded on Gold zombies have actually worked out what the tuning dial/buttons operate and shifted to 94.1
The comments on Radio Today are worth a read for a laugh. Lots of sour grapes from SCA calling the survey rogue etc, HT has been victim of many of them in the past. If you contribute to the cost, you gotta take the bad with the good.
HT on ch 7:
Also a great vid nearby to that on rogue tow truck operators, interesting stand off.
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Hans had a busy media day:
Council
Gold Coast media man Hans Torv blasts council’s sale of prime public Surfers Paradise land
INFLUENTIAL Gold Coast media and property investor Hans Torv has smashed council plans to sell public land in the middle of Surfers Paradise.
The planned land and assets sales include the Bruce Bishop carpark and former transit centre, neighbouring Neal Shannon Park and seven other lots including two major parcels of land at Robina.
Local residents rallied against the sale yesterday and Surfers Paradise State MP John-Paul Langbroek also fought it, starting a petition against it.
Hot Tomato owner Hans Torv at the Studios in Southport. Photo
Mr Torv, who founded independent radio station Hot Tomato and its associated myGC news service, said the council was “overstepping its civic duty” by selling off the prized public assets.
The land at Surfers was gifted to the city in 1938 by Charles Joseph Hicks, who instructed the land be preserved as a recreational reserve.
Peter Young thanked protesters for making their thoughts known. Picture: Lea Emery
“Council wants to destroy his gift just to bolster their short-term budget position, swapping his legacy for an arts centre and bridge building project of their own desire,” Mr Torv said in an email to the council.
“It will bring into question the council’s integrity, honesty and trustworthiness. Which right minded citizen will ever again donate such a valuable parcel of land to the city?”
Mr Torv suggested the Mayor donate the site of the former Surfers Paradise Bowls Club, in which he is a shareholder, to the city as green space in lieu of the city asset.
Public rally at Evandale against the Bruce Bishop parking lot sell off. Picture: Lea Emery
Mr Torv said the council’s argument that removing parks and widening bridges would reduce traffic did not stack up.
“It doesn’t matter how big the bridge is — it will still end in a T intersection,” he said.
“There’s a much better solution for the future traffic flow and you already have it on some early council plans — a bridge from Etna St to Rio Vista Boulevard — it gives a whole new route south as far as Miami and Pizzey Park.
“What the Gold Coast needs is more river crossings not bigger ones.”
The Bruce Bishop Car Park will be sold. Photo
If this rating drop for the SCA stations is what comes from the public picking up on the amount of networking, imagine what will happen when Gold starts calling itself Triple M and Sea Fm becomes another hit station.
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Examining the data on this a bit, it looks like HT’s rise is almost exclusively due to a monumental jump in the 25-39s, up a whopping 18%. Though the jump in that demographic hasn’t come from Gold or Sea, not at least this survey - both of those stations recorded modest increases there too. It seems to be mostly a drop from JJJ, the Brisbane stations as well as the ‘others’
I’d agree with most of the anecdotal observations here too - HT’s local feel is very noticeable while Sea/Gold look more networked than ever (and in the afternoon sound it too - 92.5 is just a relay of 104.5). And while I don’t wish to harp on again about the ‘other’ share (which has decreased overall this survey), it is interesting to look at it by demographic:
- 25-39s: 12.6%
- 40-54s: 22.9%
- 55-64s: 32.7%
- 65+s: 41.9%.
Again anecdotally, but on what I’ve seen I’d suggest Gary Field has a significant amount to do with that huge percentage in the older demographics, more so than anyone else playing in the market.
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