WSFM's Jonesy and Amanda have pulled off an impressive coup in the latest Sydney radio ratings, ending Kyle & Jackie O's lengthy unbeaten run in the FM breakfast slot.
The radio veterans followed up their strong result in the last ratings survey, jumping another 1.4 per cent to come equal with their ARN stablemates at KIIS 106.5 with a 10.3 per cent share of the breakfast radio audience.
Kyle & Jackie O had been the top FM breakfast show outright for 15 straight ratings surveys - a streak stretching back to November 2015 - before today's tied result.
"They've been popping the champagne, they're going out to lunch - it's a great result," ARN's National Content Director Duncan Campbell said about the duo.
"For us, as a station, it's like a duopoly dream, having both number one breakfast shows in FM," he added. "It's a great lift and part of the resurgence of the station following our battle with Smooth earlier this year."
2GB's strong performance continued with Alan Jones and Ray Hadley topping the early morning slots.
Jones easily won the breakfast timeslot with a 15.3 point audience share, while Hadley maintained his strong lead in mornings with a 15.9 point share. Later in the day, Ben Fordham (10.4) and Steve Price (19.1) extended their reach in their timeslots.
"The last 12 months have been a remarkable period," said Adam Lang, Chief Operating Officer at Macquarie Media.
"Alan Jones has gone through serious health challenges and has been off-air for four months in the last year, Steve Price went to the jungle... We have weathered a lot. But we have been able to keep delivering the format people listen to," he said.
Lang also addressed recent criticism of the lack of female representation on the station.
"It is something we are looking at, and not just because of the criticism we get for it; it's an observation we have had of ourselves," he said.
"The representation of women across our whole business is actually excellent, but where we are lacking is in the most obvious way and that is on-air.
"We build up a range of people who want to be on air and have the willingness and capability to build a relationship with our listeners... People like Miranda Devine, Heidi Armstrong, Natalie Peters, Kate Stevenson in Melbourne are all people we are working with.
"We have a long way to go to build up the numbers of people in those succession plans and we are only part-way through what is a long-term plan."
There was minimal movement elsewhere in the competitive breakfast field, with Nova 96.9's Fitzy and Wippa suffering the biggest drop, losing 1.2 per cent of their morning audience (6.6). 2DayFM's perennially struggling Em Rusciano Show fell 0.3 per cent, back down to a 3.3 per cent total share.
"We know we have a long game on our hands... We've had four breakfast shows in four years," Hit Network's Head of Content Gemma Fordham said about Rusciano's numbers, which are still lingering behind the station's last axed breakfast duo, Sam and Rove.
"We have to go with what our ears tell us, which is the product is great... We are absolutely committed to the show, and it will 100 per cent remain next year."
The FM drive slot saw drops almost across the board, with Nova 96.9's Kate, Tim and Marty suffering a hefty 1.5 per cent dip to 9.7, ceding the lead to KIIS 106.5's Hughesy and Kate, who fell 0.3 points to a 9.8 per cent audience share.
