From the ARN Upfronts:
Smallzy was confirmed to be joining the KIIS network with The Smallzy Show which will air from 3-4pm weekdays and a night edition from 7-9pm. He will be heard on KIIS 1065, KIIS 1011, KIIS 97.3, KIIS 102.3 and KIIS DAB+ Perth from January 2026. This will mean the end of The Pick Up with Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne who previously hosted the early drive 3-4pm spot. It was already confirmed that their Life Uncut podcast would no longer be associated with ARN iHeart. Will and Woody will continue on Drive.
ARN’s KIIS and GOLD networks are going fully national in 2026, in a move which brings Kyle & Jackie O to a new audience in Perth, via a new KIIS DAB+ station. Adelaide’s Mix102.3 will rebrand as KIIS 102.3.
In consolidating the GOLD brand, Perth’s 96FM becomes GOLD96FM. Adelaide’s Cruise1323 evolves into GOLD1323, and new GOLD DAB+ stations will launch in Brisbane and Adelaide.
Jonesy & Amanda will have a GOLD Network National Drive program.
The new host of KIIS 97.3 will be Lowie, Craig Low, returning to Australia and radio after a long period in the US. This news was perhaps foreshadowed in the below catch up for Lowie with iHeart Radio Content Director Brett ‘Nozz’ Nossiter and Head of the KIIS Network Derek ‘DB’ Bagwanna.
The new hosts of Mix 102.3, which will become KIIS 102.3, will be Ben and Liam (Ben Harvey and Liam Stapleton) with Belle Jackson returning to her off air role as producer.
A full house at the ARN Upfronts today to see what the network has in store for 2026.
What was known prior to the Upfronts:
The Christian O’Connell show will go national in 2026.
Jonesy and Amanda will shift from Sydney‘s Gold 101.7 breakfast to make way for Christian, to Drive. Steve Fitton announced today that he is leaving Gold Network drive at the end of this year, paving the way perhaps for Jonesy and Amanda to go into Melbourne as well.
For the KIIS Network there is a vacancy now on KIIS 97.3 breakfast in Brisbane with Robin, Kip and Corey Oates axed last week. A year ago the money would have been on Kyle and Jackie O extending their reach, with Kyle from Brisbane originally.
Now attention has turned to Kent ‘Smallzy’ Small (main image – from Facebook) who clearly has some involvement with ARN next year, although not on national mornings. Smallzy sais his presence at the Upfronts was a ‘volunteer’ appearance, presumably because his non complete claus is still in force and prevents him from doing paid work for any other radio company.
There is also a vacancy in Adelaide with Hayley and Max announced to be departing Mix 102.3 breakfast too. The new person/team here will be, according to ARN Chief Audiences & Content Officer, Lauren Joyce, ‘live and local’. That would shorten the odds on Ben, Liam and Belle, the Nova Late Drive presenters who were to depart December 12 but upped tools and left early with their last show on Monday October 27. The trio had moved to Adelaide and continued their national show from there to be closer to Ben and Liam’s families only to find out their show would wrap up a month later. Smallzy too is a Nova castoff this year.