The final poll on the radio shows that discussions are anything but economic

The latest radio survey for 2018 shows that the music is good, but the discussions are better.

MediaWorks continues to dominate music radio in the latest GfK commercial radio survey, but NZME's Newstalk ZB remains the most widely watched station.

Jason Winstanley, head of the NZME conference, said the victory "reinforced" the decision to extend the Hosking show by half an hour in 2019.

The NZME also relies on Newstalk's dominance in the Auckland area, although MediaWorks has seven of the country's eight best music stations.

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Dean Buchanan, Network Entertainment Manager, explains that this success is the result of a two-year focus on the most densely populated region of the country.

"Auckland is such a critical market in New Zealand … What we are really excited about music brands, is that they are overall gaining two and a half points in the critical 25-54 demo, a rise of 4.5 points, the course of a year that is a major change. "

The focus on "brands and the public" has played an important role in this strategy. This has been seen with the "Regeneration" of Coast, which is now the number one resort with Kiwis over 35 years old.

MediaWorks' hip-hop and R & B station, Mai FM, prevented whitewash, posting a major 1.4% increase in Auckland, giving it an overall audience share of 10.5%.

The most surprising victory of MediaWorks is the news. The Rock increased its audience share by 0.9% to reach a market share of 7.6% nationally. The station recorded the largest increase in listeners, from 17,400 to 436,300 per week.

More FM has maintained its position as the most listened to music station, with The Breakfast Club and Jase & Jay-Jay at Drive, both award-winning in the field of music.

The continued growth of the Magic classical music station is also a good sign for its upcoming merger with RadioLIVE.

The 0.5% increase coincides with news announced earlier in the day announcing that the new hybrid station will cover two frequencies. One will be dedicated exclusively to music (Magic Music), the other to music and information (Magic Talk).

The GfK survey only concerns commercial radio. The results do not include the public broadcaster Radio New Zealand.