A bonus edition of Media McKnight looks at TV’s Black Thursday & Metro Radio Ratings
You can watch the video edition of this article in the player below:
HUNDREDS OF JOB TO GO
You could call yesterday Black Thursday in the world of television, with hundreds of people set to lose their jobs.
Both Channel 7 and NBN are set for a big round of redundancies.
At Seven – It’s been reported Natarsha Belling – the host of the midday news – is one of those people.
Southern Cross Media, which owns channel 7, made an announcement to the stock exchange saying it would reduce its workforce by 250 – 300 staff.
The statement says:
The Group’s businesses are performing well in market conditions that have deteriorated materially more than anticipated through 4Q26, particularly within the TV segment. Group revenue1 for FY26 is now expected to be $1,860 to $1,870 million versus previous guidance of $1,910 to $1,920 million.
In an email to staff, Southern Cross CEO Rohan Lund said:
“This transformation involves making incredibly tough choices regarding our team structures, and we will be saying goodbye to many smart, talented, and hard-working colleagues who have played a vital role in building both businesses. We are a better company because of their dedication, and we are committed to treating every departing team member with the respect and compassion they deserve.”
250 to 300 jobs is a LOT, especially when redundancies have been ongoing at all media outlets, including Seven.
There’s no doubt this will lead to changes on air.
The Daily Mail is reporting Natarsha Belling has been axed. That reporting has been backed up by other outlets.
Tarsh was hosting the midday news.
There was also internal scuttlebutt that the 4pm news would become national, replacing the local editions around the country.
Seven has flatly denied those rumours, saying there will be no changes to the Midday News or the 4pm News.
Meanwhile, Mediaweek broke the news WIN has taken the axe to the NBN newsroom – despite claims they will be producing more local news after the axing of weekend bulletins.
The outlet reports 6 journalists will be made redundant, culling the number from ten to six.
Camera operators would be cut from seven to three.
How on earth you can claim you’ll be doing MORE local news with far less is beyond me – even though executives took umbrage at that narrative last week… and that was before we knew about these redundancies.
And in a further twist, my sources tell me staff will have to reapply for their roles.
A list of job vacancies posted internally would suggest this tip is true.
A WIN spokesperson told TV Blackbox:
A meeting was held with all NBN News staff today to announce a new operating restructure that will enable NBN News to deliver dedicated 30-minute local news, sport and weather bulletins each weeknight.
While the restructure impacts some roles, WIN is prioritising redeployment opportunities across the Network and will conduct the process transparently and collaboratively.
The WIN Network has entered a formal consultation period, inviting employee feedback on the proposal by June 15, 2026.
Out of respect for the consultation process, no further comment will be made at this time.
Every role at NBN is being advertised, and it backs up the Mediaweek reporting as there are only 6 journalist positions – one being for sport… and three camera positions.
As one source told me: they can simply offer you a role on the other side of the country, and if you don’t go, they don’t have to pay a redundancy.
It truly is a horrible way to treat people.
If you want to make them redundant, then just do it – making people apply for the roles they’re already doing is pathetic management.
GOOD AND BAD NEWS FOR ARN
GFK released the Metro Radio ratings for survey three yesterday and there’s a lot to unpack.
These ratings cover the survey period Sunday, March 1 to Saturday, April 4 & Sunday, April 19 to Saturday, May 23
Let’s begin in Sydney…
Smooth FM has come out in front, despite being down -0.2%.
2GB has to settle for second place on 11.8 – that’s a drop of -1.5
GOLD saw a nice rise of +1.4 for a 9% share in third.
Nova took out fourth.
And KIIS took a big hit, falling to 5th place with a 7.4% share – a loss of 1.3% – which has to be because of Kyle and Jackie O.
And when we drill down to those breakfast results, you can see the impact the axing of K&J is having on KIIS.
The former number 1 FM breakfast show has slid down to fourth place – down 3.5% for an 8.2% share.
To be honest, I think it could have been much worse, but I would expect that to fall in the next survey
Ben Fordham takes the crown on 2GB with a 15.6% share.
Smooth fm is now sitting in second place on 11.4 – that’s an increase of half a per cent.
NOVA had the same increase for a 9.5% share in third.
KIIS dropped to fourth. The former number 1 was down 3.5% and had to settle for an 8.2 share.
And Christian O’Connell will have reason to smile with a rise of 1.7%, putting him in 5th position.
Let’s look at actual audience numbers – the cume figures.
Smooth has dropped 35,000 listeners, but remains number 1.
NOVA has also lost listeners, but came in second on 696,000.
This is the big one – KIIS – the former home of Kyle and Jackie O lost 132,000 listeners, dropping to 541,000.
2GB’s cume is lower than the FM’s, but its audience hangs around longer, which is why Ben Fordham takes wins breakfast.
The biggest winner in this survey is GOLD FM, with Christian O’Connell increasing his audience by 31,000 listeners.
The big problem for radio – the overall cume figure is down 87,000.
That’s 87,000 people who have presumably stopped listening to radio and gone somewhere else now that they no longer have Kyle and Jackie O.
To Melbourne now… overall 3AW remains number 1 on a 14 share – even if it is down slightly.
GOLD is the number one FM station, but number two overall.
Smooth fm saw a slight increase for a 10.3% share.
FOX FM came in fourth.
And Triple M was fifth with an 8.2% share.
Although not making the top 5, SEN was a big mover – jumping 1.7 points to 4.8.
In the all-important breakfast slot Ross Stevenson and Russel Howcroft can do no wrong on 3AW – bringing in another dominating result on 19.1%.
The Christian O’Connell Show doesn’t seem to have alienated its Melbourne audience, even though he’s broadcasting into Sydney – he was the number 1 FM show on 10%.
FOX FM’s Fifi, Fev and Nick were just behind on 9.5, and Nova’s Jase, Lauren and Clint dropped from 10.3 to 9.4.
It’s been a big drop for them after climbing to the top of the FM ladder – I wonder why listeners have left?
To Brisbane now…
Triple M remains at the top of the pact, despite a slight drop.
Radio’s unsung hero – 4BH takes out second place… not bad for a station that essentially operates out of spare bedrooms and garages.
B105 was third with an 11.7 share.
NOVA saw a good increase of 1.8% but had to settle for fourth.
And KIIS rounded out the top 5, losing 1.4%.
In breakfast, The Courier Mail has called it a ‘radio bloodbath’.
B105’s Stav, Abby and Matt have risen to the top with a 13.4 share – that’s an increase of 1.6%
Former number 1 – Triple M – was bumped down to second.
Nova’s Susie, Nick and Luttsy saw an impressive increase of 2%, but it still hasn’t got back to where it was when it axed Ash Bradnam.
4BH – the little station that could with BBQ Bob sits nicely in fourth…
But the big shock is at KIIS, which saw Robin, Kip and Corey freefall 1.1% for an 11% audience share.
Any goodwill the station had of un-axing the trio last year seems to have gone.
My old stomping ground of 4BC is still doing it tough… Dean Miller and Sofie Formica saw a slight drop of 0.1% for a 3.7 share.
To Adelaide now…
Triple M has taken the top spot on 13.3% – a nice increase of 1.1%.
The newly rebranded KIIS – it used to be MIX – came in second with an 11.2 share.
NOVA was third with 11.1.
SAFM saw no change and delivered a 10 share for fourth.
And Cruise took out the last position in the top 5.
Triple M’s Roo, Ditts & Loz continue to dominate, remaining at the number 1 position with a 12.9 share.
NOVA came in second with an 11.4, gaining 1.2%
Despite a low station share, breakfast is still doing well on FIVEaa
ABC took 4th place on 10.9.
And the new breakfast show on KIIS with Ben Harvey and Liam Stapleton is still finding its feet – but did see an increase of 1.5%.
Over in Perth, Nova was the clear winner station-wise, with a 14.9 share.
MIX was up 1.5% for a 13.6 share.
GOLD made had a modest increase for a 12 share.
Triple M sits in fourth place on 8.3%.
And the ABC takes out 5th place.
In the breakfast slot, Nathan, Nat & Shaun ON NOVA remains the clear number 1 ON 17.7.
Daylight is next, and then Mix officially claims the number 2 spot on 13.4.
Listeners like a bit of talk radio in the morning, judging by 6PR’s result of 9.9%, giving it third place.
Rounding out the top 5 is Triple M on 9.8 and GOLD on 9.5.
Media McKnight returns Tuesday night on YouTube and Wednesday morning here on TV Blackbox.
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