AM radio powerhouse 3AW has maintained its stranglehold on the Melbourne radio ratings in the final survey of the year with star presenter Neil Mitchell appearing unstoppable.
The Morning talk show host has won every survey of 2016 and increased his audience share from 14.4 per cent to 15.3 per cent in the last ratings month of the year.
![Triple M broadcaster Eddie McGuire, right, with his breakfast co-host Mick Molloy.](/web/20161213095833im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/n/1/5/1/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gt9qj2.png/1481586092550.jpg)
ABC 774's Jon Faine, Mitchell's rival in the heavily-contested Mornings timeslot, gained slightly but still lagged behind on 11.3 per cent.
But the biggest upset has been on the FM Breakfast airwaves, with Eddie McGuire's Triple M Hot Breakfast losing its top spot at the final hurdle to Fox's Fifi, Dave and Fev.
![Clash of the talk titans: 3AW's Neil Mitchell has beaten 774ABC's Jon Faine in the latest ratings survey.](/web/20161213095833im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/7/z/p/n/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gt9qj2.png/1481586092550.jpg)
Triple M's audience share tumbled nearly two points from 9.9 to 8 per cent with Fox picking up the slack, growing from 8.5 to 9.4 per cent.
Despite the drop in listeners, McGuire's program was still safe in second place ahead of a tightly-contested third place between Nova 100's Chrissie, Sam and Browny, Gold 104.3's Jo and Lehmo and Smooth FM.
Nova Entertainment group program director Paul Jackson told Fairfax Media the network was playing a longer game with 2016 newcomers Chrissie, Sam and Browny who sit in third on 6.4.
"It's all about the long game. We entered into a heritage market place with big programs that have been around for a very long time. It's a tight marketplace but it's a fantastic result."
![Hamish and Andy will have a new show on Nine but details are being kept under wraps.](/web/20161213095833im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/k/v/v/o/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gt9qj2.png/1481586092550.jpg)
On the FM airwaves, Fox FM remains the clear winner of the stations, with 10.6 per cent audience share. In second place, Nova's Smooth FM continues to pick up steam, up from 7.6 to 9 per cent.
Gold 104.3, Triple M and Nova placed third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Fox's winning finish was aided by a consolidation of Drive stars Hamish Blake and Andy Lee's lion's share of the audience.
The comedy duo, who leave radio at the end of next year, left their competitors in the dust with 14.8 per cent up from 13.3 in survey 7 in November.
Smooth FM narrowly came second on 8.2 per cent, followed by Gold 104.3 on 8.1 and Nova's Kate, Tim and Marty on 8.
Nova's national program Kate, Tim and Marty fell from second to fourth place, but Mr Jackson said he was comfortable with their result in the face of strong competition.
He also added that the departure of Hamish and Andy would have huge ramifications in the Drive timeslot in 2018.
"It will definitely have an impact. You have to only look at a few years before they [Hamish and Andy] came back when Fox was struggling in the drive timeslot."
The final survey of 2016 however will come as a huge win to Fox which now has the top shows in both Breakfast and Drive in Melbourne.
Overall, 3AW - owned by Fairfax, publisher of this masthead - also scored a healthy finish, holding steady with 13.7 per cent audience share.
The station's Breakfast team of Ross and John were the clear winners on the AM band with 18.9 audience share, hammering ABC competitor Red Symons on 13.2.