The ABC was the big winner in Sydney and Melbourne in the latest radio ratings, while the biggest loser was Fairfax radio, with big audience losses in Sydney for 2UE and Melbourne for 3AW.

This will make it harder to sell for the sort of price Fairfax wants. Will John Singleton’s Macquarie group grab it?

In Sydney: 2GB again led from ABC 702 and 2Day FM, with Ray Hadley, 2GB morning rising to 20.1%, (from 19.3%) the biggest share in the market. But 2GB’s Alan Jones with 18.3 (changed) still had more listeners than Hadley. 702’s Adam Spencer on 10.8 (down from 11.2 last survey) was still second Richard Glover (12.4, down from 13.1) again led drive in Sydney for 702 ahead of 2GB and 2Day. Fairfax’s 2UE saw its share edge up to 5.3 from 5.1, with small gains in breakfast, mornings and afternoons. It was a better effort than 3AW in Melbourne.

In terms of audience, the Monday-to-Friday cumulative figures show that 2Day is still the most listened to with 920,000, up from 897,000. 702 was listened to 656,000, down 2000 on last survey. 2GB was third with 653,000, up from 638,000. But while 2UE’s share rose, its cumulative audience slumped badly, down 35,000, the biggest drop in Sydney in survey, to 281,000 from 316,000. So the line-up changes that include Jason Morrison and David Oldfield are not being greeted favourably from listeners who are turning off.

In Melbourne: Big changes, although 3AW remained top with 16.3, down sharply from 17.3 in the last survey. Fox was on 11.9 (down sharply from 12.8 and feeling the loss of Hamish and Andy’s full-time efforts?) but the big gainer was ABC 774, up to 11.9 from 11.3. Neil Mitchell, 3AW mornings copped a pounding, his share down to 16.8 from 19.9 last survey. 774 picked up ground in breakfast, mornings and afternoons, with Red Symons in breakfast up to 11.9 from 11.3 and Jon Faine jumping to 14.3 from 13.7% in mornings. MTR, the talk station featuring Steve Price and Andrew Bolt, among others, slipped to 2.1 from 2.3. It lost ground in all sessions during the day except drive.

In terms of cumulative audiences Monday to Friday, Fox remains No.1, but its 1.087 million listeners was down sharply from 1.130 million last survey. 3AW in third was another big loser, falling to 662,000 from 719,000. That’s a loss of 57,000 people and the biggest loss in the survey. bad news for Fairfax. 774 was a big winner with its weekly cumulative audience rising to 749,000 from 727,000.