The final ratings period for 2014 has capped off a stellar year for Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O (Henderson) after the Kiss 1065 pair finished convincingly at the top of the FM breakfast tree.

Over on the AM dial, Alan Jones cemented his overall position as the top rating breakfast host – his 101st survey in top spot – with a result of 14.8, up .7 on last survey.

Sandilands and Henderson have played chasey with WSFM's Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones in recent months but their ARN stablemates flatlined this survey with an unchanged 9.9 points. The Kiis 1065 duo climbed .8 points to 11.3.

2Day FM's troubled breakfast line-up of Merrick Watts, Jules Lund and Sophie Monk limped to the year's close with an essentially unchanged 3.0 points. The trio will be replaced next year by Dan Debuf and Maz Compton as the station still struggles to make up for the defection of Sandilands and Henderson at the beginning of 2014.

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At the other end of the day, the recent poor run continued for ABC 702 Sydney's Richard Glover, whose drive show shed .6 points to 9.4, on top of last survey's 2.7-point fall.

Craig Bruce from 2Day FM owners SCA  admitted 2014 had been "a challenge", but stressed that Sydney market was only one of several for the company

"We're a large company with a lot going on and while we are disappointed that 2Day didn't work out for us this year we think we have discovered and prepared a really strong offering for the Sydney market in Dan and Maz," he said. "It would be foolish for anyone to write us off."

And in a hint as to how 2Day FM will seek to position Debruf and Compton in the breakfast battle, he said it would be a "younger show" with a "different perspective".

This follows reports of a trade advertising campaign touting the pair as "younger and fresher", presumably in contrast to 43-year-old Sandilands and Keller, 52.

Bruce also said one of the strengths of Australian radio was its capacity to renew itself.

"If Kyle and Jac are still the number one FM pop radio show in Sydney in 10 years, the industry is screwed," he said. "Radio is supposed to re-invent itself."

Meanwhile, Duncan Campbell of ARN asserted that their breakfast offerings were "slightly more adult".

"They [2Day FM] have got to start somewhere but we don't see them as a threat at all," he added.

It's been an unprecedented year of turbulence in the Sydney market, marked by fierce ratings battles between the key players and record spending by station owners in the bid to attract and retain listeners.

It all kicked off with the FM radio equivalent of tectonic plates shifting when Sandilands and Henderson quit 2Day FM for Mix 106.5, which was to be rebranded Kiis 1065.

All eyes were on the first ratings survey to see if the listeners would follow the golden duo to their new home – which, they did. In droves.

Sandilands and Henderson doubled the number of breakfast listeners at Kiis, immediately roaring to the number one spot on the FM dial.

Since then they have traded the lead several times with Keller and Jones, to the immense satisfaction of the stations' owner ARN.

2Day FM owner SCA responded to the loss of their stars by introducing their unusual four-handed breakfast team: Watts, Lund, and Monk plus former Spice Girl Mel B.

The move proved disastrous, with first Mel B and the Sophie Monk quitting the struggling show.

Late in the year, SCA, anxious to draw a line under the experiment, announced a new breakfast line-up for 2015 with Debuf and Maz Compton moving to the other end of the day from their drive slot.

And in a coup that will see renewed focus on the battle for drive listeners, SCA also announced it had signed veterans Hamish Blake and Andy Lee. However, the pair won't start until July, with Lund keeping the chair warm until then.

On AM, it's been a volatile year for ABC 702 Sydney's breakfast and drive presenters. Both Robbie Buck, Adam Spencer's replacement, and Richard Glover saw a mid-year spike but have drifted downwards ever since.

Meanwhile, 2GB continued its dominance, recording a 12.1 per cent audience share, making it number one overall in Sydney.