James Valentine has just been announced as ABC Sydney’s new breakfast presenter.
He will move from his afternoon shift to the breakfast slot.
Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck will leave the show in December (see previous report) and Valentine will immediately jump into the timeslot in the leadup to Christmas.
The station had a big rise in yesterday’s ratings. “The results were a dream,” said Robbie Buck as he revealed the name of the new presenter. Breakfast scored 15.7% and the station overall lifted by 1.1 share points to score 13%, second behind 2GB in the Sydney market.
James Valentine’s afternoon show was first in its timeslot in the ratings, scoring 12.7%, a rise of 0.9. 2GB was in second place behind ABC Sydney in the afternoon timeslot, scoring 11.9% (note that James Valentine’s shift times do not exactly correspond with the official noon-4pm ratings timeslot).
“Negotiations have been more extensive than a French submarine,” joked Valentine, as he chatted to Harmer and Buck in the studio as the news was announced.
The timeslot for ABC Sydney’s breakfast show will be changed, with Valentine finishing at 9am, not the current 10am finishing time for the show.
“I haven’t got a clue what I will be doing, but we’ll all find out together,” said Valentine.
The station’s regular fill in presenter Josh Szeps will take over the afternoon slot and Cassie McCullagh, currently the presenter of ‘Focus’ at 10am, will host the 9-11 am morning show.
ABC Sydney’s station line up for 2022 is:
Breakfast with James Valentine (6.15am – 8.00am).
AM (8.00am – 8.30am).
Breakfast with James Valentine (8.30am -9.00am).
Mornings with Cassie McCullagh (9.00am – 11.00am).
Conversations with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski (11.00am – 12.00pm).
The World Today (12.00pm – 12.30pm).
Afternoons with Josh Szeps (12.30pm – 3.30pm).
Drive with Richard Glover (3.30pm – 6.30pm).
PM (6.30pm – 7.00pm).
Evenings with Sarah Macdonald (7.00pm – 10.00pm).
Friday and Saturday Evenings with Sirine Demachkie and Christine Anu.
Nightlife with Phil Clark and Indira Naidoo (10.00pm – 2.00am).
Overnights with Trevor Chappell and Rod Quinn (2.00am – 6.00am).
Weekend Breakfast with Simon Marnie (Saturdays 6.00am – 8.00am).
This Week (Saturdays 8.00am – 8.30am).
Weekend Mornings with Simon Marnie (8.30am – 12.00pm).
Australia All Over with Ian ‘Macca’ McNamara (Sundays 5.30am – 10.00am).
Weekend Mornings with Simon Marnie (10.00am – 12.00pm).
ABC Radio Sydney Manager Melanie Withnall, who will soon leave to join SCA, says the station was spoilt for choice when it came to its on-air talent. “We have a very strong line up of presenters with a great depth of experience, so we were always going to recruit from within. Our presenters for next year are well-known and well-loved and are all capable of delivering entertaining, informing and at times, surprising content.”