Jimmy & Nath (Jimmy Smith and Nathan Roye) will be joined by Emma Chow for Sydney’s 2DAY FM Breakfast in 2025, starting next Monday January 20. While this duo now trio combination was what was rumoured to be happening after the Mike E and Emma pairing was found to be disbanding after 13 years, the announcement has taken longer than anyone expected and it’s targeting Mum and Dad listeners.
In August 2024 Jimmy & Nath were hurriedly put onto 2Day FM breakfast when Hughesy, Ed and Erin abruptly pulled the pin. They would often cover summer and winter breakfast before that but were comfortably situated and suited to networked Nights.
By the way, this month marks a decade of the pair working together on commercial radio.
SCA said in their media release that Jimmy & Nath “earned” themselves this permanent breakfast spot. However, apparently the pair as they were was not enough.
The SCA network is very proud of its 25-54 audience share. Jimmy and Nath appeal tremendously toward the 25-34 group, but perhaps less so to the 35+. We all know, and are seeing via the campaigning of the MFW, how much there is a drive toward safe listening by Mum and Dad to radio when the kids are in earshot. Particularly the car during the breakfast time school run.
Emma is a very talented announcer who is also a mum. SCA must have felt that without this ‘voice’ in their breakfast program that the boys risked alienating a core demographic.
Jimmy said:
“We’re also thrilled to welcome Emma into the Jimmy & Nath family. She’s an amazing broadcaster and we’re just as excited that her two kids now have two funcles (fun uncles).”
Nath said:
“We definitely misbehave more than her kids, which she has now contractually accepted. Hopefully in 2025 parents will be turning 2DayFM up across Sydney to block out their kids’ backseat rants – just like my mum did.”
And Emma said:
“I love Sydney, and I can’t wait to bring my ‘I’m not a regular Mum, I’m a cool Mum’ (I think?) energy to Jimmy & Nath. Let’s do this!”
Jimmy and Nath, as two young men with a delightfully naughty side, could have brought to 2Day FM listeners who tune into Kyle and Jackie O for exactly the same reason, the 18-25 group which K&J usually dominate. By pushing Jimmy and Nath towards a broader and older perhaps audience SCA are missing a trick. I am happy to be proved wrong though.
Finally, on Mike Etheridge, Emma’s former colleague on the Mike E & Emma show. He apparently is staying with the network in 2025, with further details on that to be announced soon.
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo.