The first lot of New Zealand radio ratings for 2016 were released a few days ago and we are thrilled and very thankful to say that Newtalk ZB’s The Two is not only still the nation’s number one show on a Sunday evening, but has increased its audience share.
There’s a bit of an in-joke in radio that when ratings come out, no matter how you did, you can spin the statistics to make it sound at best that you’re at #1 and at worst, still super amazingly jaw-droppingly impressive. What has always been important to me about the success of the four-and-half-year old show The Two is its broad appeal and unquestioned ratings dominance. There’s no spin when we thank you for making us #1. I don’t mean #1 only for a specific target demo, I don’t mean #1 only for women named Diana at 10:45pm, I mean #1 for all ages and right across our 8pm-11pm slot.
Here are some key facts and figures about the ratings success of The Two:
- The Two is the #1 rated show nationwide in New Zealand Sunday evenings 8pm-11pm with 20.7% of the available audience (all ages 10+). The nearest talk radio competitor Radio Live has 6.9%.
- The Two is the #1 rated show in every single individual market in New Zealand except Dunedin and Southland and Southland where it is #2.
- The Two is the #1 rated show in Auckland (New Zealand’s largest market) with 21.6% of the available audience (all ages 10+). The nearest talk radio competitor Radio Live has 6.6%.
- The Two increased its Auckland audience share (all ages 10+) from 20.2% to 21.6%.
- Before The Two began (with Tim Roxborogh and Pam Corkery) in January 2012, the Auckland ratings were at 7.9% (all ages 10+). They are now almost triple that with 21.6%.
- When Pam Corkey left The Two in mid-2014 the Auckland ratings subsequently dipped from 17.3% to 12.8%. Since then, Tim Roxborogh and Tim Wilson have rebuilt the show to 21.6% in just two official surveys.
- At 21.6% of the entire available Auckland audience, the current figures are the highest ratings for the Newstalk ZB 8pm-11pm slot going back to at least the start of 2008.
- In late 2012 The Two hit a whopping 25.7% of the available Auckland audience with Tim Roxborogh and Pam Corkery in the original and slightly different time-slot of 9pm-12pm.
- The Two has frequently had the highest listening percentage of any non-overnight show in the Auckland market, all ages 10+.
What all of this means is that more people than ever listen to The Two on Newstalk ZB on Sunday evenings. The show has uniquely high ratings and while that’s something to make Tim Wilson and I pretty chuffed, it’s never something we take for granted. Once again, thank you if you ever listen and take part in our show. This show has always been a variant of talk radio where the swings between the serious and silly, the philosophical and the irreverent co-exist easily. For us, that’s what real life conversations are about, so what not have them on the radio too?
