Mike Etheridge and the team deserve a pat on the back for the way KIIS breakfast has been managed for the last month in the absence of Kyle and Jackie O.
Yes, Survey 2 didn’t show the full impact, but retaining No 1 FM, in Sydney and bolstering the cume audience who were still checking in, bodes well for what is on offer.
With Kyle and Jackie having their first day in court, and a trial now set for October, ARN can now tentatively look ahead to the next six months. They have decided to try a few co-hosts to join Mike and the team (pictured above).
This week was Georgie Tunny. Next week it’s Abbie Chatfield (pictured main)
Georgie is part of the ARN iHeart podcast network and is a journalist with vast sporting knowledge as well as extensive experience with the ABC and on TV with The Project. She’s versatile and now very much added to the mix of a long term replacement.
Abbie is a surprise packet.
Up until the end of March she and her It’s a Lot podcast were part of SCA and LiSTNR. I can’t imagine her contract would have entertained her appearing on an ARN station.
In the March Podcast Ranker that was out this week it was the second most listened to for LiSTNR, behind Hamish & Andy, with just shy of a million downloads for the month – and the Triton Australian Podcast Ranker does not measure YouTube consumption either.
The shift to Acast and podcast independence is significant then, for what happens next.
Some background on Abbie’s audio career so far.
It’s a Lot started with Acast in 2020, at the height of the pandemic and the ensuing podcast frenzy. At the start of 2021, Abbie and the podcast joined Nova Entertainment. The start of 2022 she joined SCA and started hosting Hot Nights with Abbie Chatfield that was heard across the Hit Network.
The radio role lasted 18 months before she walked away, saying at the time she was exhausted and:
“I just wasn’t getting joy from that environment anymore.”
The podcast has stayed with LiSTNR ever since, until April 1.
But now she’s a free and independent podcaster who has been given the opportunity to dip her toe back in the radio waters, this time at breakfast
She joins Mike E, Brooklyn, Nat, Intern Pete and the broader KIIS Breakfast team on KIIS 101.1 and KIIS 1065 from Monday April 27 – Friday May 1.
Abbie said:
“I’m so excited to jump in with the KIIS Breakfast crew for the week. Breakfast radio is fast, fun, and full-on in the best way, so I think I’ll be a perfect fit! I can’t wait to get on air.”
Certainly further incentive for that cume audience to grow and nothing lost for ARN by testing the waters.