Hit96.5 jumps to top of radio rankings in Geraldton with Todd Gray as breakfast king

Hit96.5 has taken the title of Geraldton’s No.1 radio station, with a 29 per cent listenership jump revealed in the latest ratings released by Xtra Insights.

The station captivates 27.6 per cent of the Geraldton market, according to the 2021 survey, leapfrogging 98.1 Triple M since the last ratings in 2018.

Both stations fall under the Southern Cross Austereo banner, of course, after the 2019 sale of the stations by Seven West Media.

Station manager Jason McCarthy said the results were better than expected, with almost two thirds of the Geraldton audience tuning in to the company’s two stations.

“Our sound changed with the shift in 2020,” he said.

“But these results show our listeners are happy with the new format.

“It’s great to see our stations grow in strength and reach since the last survey.”

In 2018, Triple M Geraldton, then known as Spirit Radio, was the top performer with a 32.4 per cent market share, and while it has fallen 6.4 per cent in the past three years, the station’s weekly listeners have grown by 2700.

ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt retained third place with a respectable 20.5 per cent share of the Geraldton market — a slight fall from 22.8 per cent in 2018 — but retained dominance in the evening session.

The survey crowned Triple M’s breakfast host Todd Gray as the undisputed king of morning radio, with 14,000 listeners tuning in to his program between 6am and 9am.

The veteran announcer has been in the studio since August 2019, and attributes the success of the program to a focus on hyper-local content.

“When it comes down to it, I love living in Gero,” he said.

“I’m always keen to know what’s happening in our city today, and I think the ratings show listeners are responding to that.”