Numbers up for talk jock

WHILE the recent radio ratings survey provided a win for 6PR talkback morning host Paul Murray, ABC 720 says it remains Perth’s number one talkback station.

Mr Murray secured a 0.8 percentage point win over rival Liam Bartlett, but ABC acting local radio manager James O’Brien said ABC’s larger audience numbers and consistent market share growth during the past four years made ABC 720 Perth’s number one talkback station.

“6PR’s increase in share is the result of an extra 1,000 listeners,” he said. “But while they have 171,000 listeners, we have 252,000 listeners.

“We’re still the number one talkback station and Perth ABC [helps make] Western Australia the only State in the country where ABC is number one.”

Southern Broadcasting general manager Declan Kelly said Mr Murray’s ratings win was more rewarding because Mr Bartlett inherits significantly more listeners from his station’s breakfast program than Mr Murray.

Figures from the last radio ratings survey show ABC 720’s breakfast program, hosted by Eion Cameron, has a 14.2 per cent market share.

That drops to 8.9 per cent market share for Mr Bartlett’s time slot. 6PR’s breakfast program has a 9.6 per cent market share and the morning program has a 9.7 per cent share.

Mr O’Brien said the shift in market share was simple.

“We have a younger audience that have kids and they go to work,” he said. “Our morning listeners are retired or doing shift work but the shift occurs from people going to work. Most people don’t listen to talkback when they are at work.”