SPH Kiss92 star Maddy Barber exits to focus on jewellery brand

SPH’s Kiss92 DJ Maddy Barber, co-host of the station's breakfast show “Maddy, Andre & Divian in the morning” will be leaving the organisation to focus on growing her bespoke jewellery brand, MADLY. Founded in 2014, MADLY aims to disrupt Singapore's Diamond jewellery industry by sharing the beauty and knowledge of coloured gemstones.

Barber will be presenting her last show on 16 July. Barber said: "Not many DJs can say that they've done the absolute best shows they were born to do, and got to do it with partners whom they have once-in-a-lifetime chemistry and connection with - I've done that, twice over! So, what's next? Radio will always be my first love, but now is the time for me to put my heart and soul into growing MADLY. My most transformative years were spent here at SPH Radio and it will forever have a special place in my heart."

Sim Hong Huat, general manager, SPH Radio, said: “It has been an amazing decade with Barber and we’re definitely sad to see her leave. But more so, we’re happy that she is doing this for herself and her family, especially in these unprecedented times where emotional and mental wellbeing are so important.”

Sim added that the team will reveal plans for the new morning show over the next few weeks.

According to a press statement published in December 2020, SPH Radio maintained its strong showing across its radio, app, and web platforms, based on the results from independent surveys conducted in the last half of 2020.  Kiss92 captured the highest exclusive listenership among all English stations while MONEY FM 89.3 doubled in listenership. Meanwhile, 96.3 Hao FM core audience had the highest growth in time spent listening, registering at 1 hour 56 minutes. 

App and web streamers continue to be popular platforms for listeners to tune in. Data from Triton Digital showed that SPH Radio saw an overall digital streaming growth. Nielsen Radio Diary Survey last year also saw Kiss92 emerge as the English station with the highest reach among audiences below 40 years old. It also saw an increase in overall listenership, attracting the loyal listeners with exclusive listenership of 160,000 weekly, and establishing the largest base of young audiences between 20 to 29 years old.  

In a separate survey with more than 2,000 respondents done in October by Milieu Insights, an independent Singapore-based consumer insights company, Kiss92 emerged as the most-liked station in Singapore.

Sim had then said that radio continues to enjoy a strong presence in the lives of consumers in Singapore during difficult times. “We are very grateful for the support of our fans and partners, and will continue to work hard at delivering better consumer experiences, which include more interactive features in-app in the following months, designed with our listeners in mind for an engaging digital experience,” he said.

Earlier this year, SPH Radio also launched a free digital audio streaming app Awedio to reach out to a wider digital audience. The platform provides local entertainment with live streaming of SPH Radio stations, SPH news publications’ audio offerings, and local podcasts. Awedio also delivers original and exclusive local podcasts, with topics ranging from health, entertainment, true crime, supernatural phenomena, and even bedtime stories for children.

This new feature is significant as SPH Radio’s podcast numbers have seen a twofold increase in 2020, showing a growth in audience who are interested not only in traditional linear radio programming, but also non-linear on-demand quality audio content.