Newstalk ZB broadcaster Mike Hosking retained his unshakeable hold on the breakfast crown. Photo / NZME
Newstalk ZB broadcaster Mike Hosking retained his unshakeable hold on the breakfast crown. Photo / NZME
Newstalk ZB has continued its upward trajectory while retaining its position as New Zealand's number one network in the latest commercial radio audience survey.
The talkback station delivered a record 651,200 listeners – the biggest audience in its history - according to the latest GfK Commercial Radio audience survey, releasedtoday.
"We feel humbled by today's results, with ZB growing its lead as the number one network in the country," NZME head of talk Jason Winstanley said.
"The ZB team have worked relentlessly to deliver news, talk, information and opinion that continues to resonate with not only existing audience, but new listeners too because of its broad appeal."
The results show Newstalk ZB continues to be the commercial station listeners tune into the most in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
In the battle for breakfast radio audiences, NZME wins across key audience groups with either the Newstalk ZB Mike Hosking Breakfast Show or ZM's Fletch, Vaughan and Megan.
"ZM's Fletch, Vaughan and Megan have further increased their lead as the number one music breakfast show across New Zealand," NZME chief content officer Mike McClung said.
"This is testament to the talent and hard work of the entire team. It's also a great result for Bree and Clint who are now number one in their Drive show slot for the all-important 18–39 and 25–54 year old age groups."
NZME chief radio and commercial officer Wendy Palmer described it as a huge achievement for both NZME and the industry as a whole.
"Today's result is made even more remarkable with the news that this is the commercial radio industry's largest ever audience at 3.5 million listeners. This is a huge achievement we can share across all of our radio brands and the industry as a whole," Palmer said
"The commitment of our NZME teams to creating New Zealand's best local audio content is sensational and I'm confident this will continue to deliver quality and engaged audiences for our customers."
NZME has again delivered strong growth with digital listening on iHeartRadio, total listening hours now over 32 million for the first half of the year, an increase of nearly 9 per cent.
"With people listening across over 2 million devices, our digital consumption is creating new opportunities for audiences to connect with our brands, our talent and our shows. iHeart is providing more access, in more moments than ever before and is sitting at the heart of the audio renaissance we are seeing," said James Butcher, NZME head of digital audio.
"Podcasting is another area of significant growth in the digital audio eco-system with downloads seeing 14 per cent growth vs same time 2020. Lockdowns created new consumption habits and it's pleasing to see those new habits not only holding, but growing."
CEO Michael Boggs said NZME integrates the capability of all its platforms across audio, publishing and digital, to deliver commercial partners with increasing opportunities to connect with engaged audiences at scale.
"By leveraging NZME's market-leading audio brands, New Zealand's number one news brand, the NZ Herald, and the OneRoof digital platform, the reach is undeniably formidable."
