Yes, as recent as Survey 8 of 2018. In fact, in the survey before that (7/2018), Cruise beat all the FM stations, except for their sister station Mix 102.3.
And as we’ve noted many times on here, a fairly recent example of what to do with a metro AM licence when you have a sports-based station rating terribly on it!!
True. But I think the gap is pretty obvious in Melbourne at least. Classic hits a la 4KQ. In Brisbane it’s Smooth. Sydney is a bit trickier with them having 2CH
Obviously they needed (and still need to) move onto something else in Melbourne & Brisbane, but personally I wonder if it actually might’ve been worth holding onto a tweaked/refined version of the “Talking Lifestyle” format just in the Sydney market for a little while longer?
From what I recall there wasn’t a massive ratings drop when 2UE transitioned to TL largely due to the fact that some familiar/ex-2UE programs were kept (most notably the breakfast & weekend programs), while the figures tanked once they were all cancelled when the station became Macquarie Sports Radio.
Yes I agree. They should have tweaked Talking Lifestyle for Sydney. Maybe even re-branded 2UE Talking Lifestyle. Made it a little less infomercial and added a few songs into the mix of light talk.
It’s the last survey of the year in 1984 and 2MMM gains the crown as the No.1 station in Sydney for the first time. It was to remain No. 1 for most of the 80s, although it really peaked from 1988 onwards when 2SM abandoned hit music and left hundreds of thousands of 10 - 30 year olds with nowhere to go but 104.9.
In other notable ratings news from 1984:
2UE is a strong No.2 with the O’Callaghan / Laws lineup (surely this will go on forever…)
2SM is rating above a 10 with its high energy “Rock of the 80s” programming
2UW has not found ratings glory with the Magic 11 branding
2DayFM is struggling, even with the advantage of FM
2KY and its racing, talk and music rates an 8.1
The forever inoffensive 2CH is forever rating well
2BL on 4.9% is somewhat irrelevant as a talk station
2UE, 2KY and 2SM have a combined rating of little more than an asterisk
2BL / ABC Sydney is a genuine force in Sydney radio
About 98% of 2CH’s audience have died and 1170 is now searching for new listeners
2MMM and 2DayFM. Who?
What has not changed is that the fate of most of the top radio stations relies on just a few individual announcers. In 1984 it was Gary, Doug, Ita and John. In 2019 it’s Alan, Kyle, Ray and Jackie.
How did Bazz and Pilko go in the ratings long term? I can only remember them in the late 80s and 2uw as classic hits by then. I remember they did a show from the sydney tunnel. I remember them talking about being an FM station then too. But they were gone by then. Larry Ember had breakfast then I think. They went to a more older format in early 90s, I think a bit older than 2ws.
2sm in 90s had lite and easy, country music in the 90s, I remember Doug Mulray did drive at one stage on 2sm and 2ws I think. The 90s was an interesting time on the AM Band before the conversions. There were a lot of different options for music. Lots of 60s music. No DAB then so no stereo. At times I remember 2day fm did play beatles in the early 90s. I did not really listen to Triple M in the 90s.
I also remember Mulray bagging AM radio, and specifically AM stereo stating that it was the equivalent of listening to two AM radios. I later laughed when he ended up on AM! Having said that he is still one of the best ever radio stars Australia has had.