In May last year 2GB Sydney broadcaster Mark Levy announced that he was opening a restaurant called Pronto Sylvania with a hospitality industry mate. At that point Mark had been working for Nine for 17 years, a regular part of the Continuous Call Team NRL coverage, had won six Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs), including Best News Coverage in 2024 for his involvement on-air in the aftermath of the Bondi Junction attacks alongside Ben Fordham and Will Bottom and, any on air gap due to survey break, illness or otherwise, he’d warm the seat.
So a restaurant investment was manageable.
But then Ray Hadley announced his retirement from 2GB Mornings and calling the football that November. Ray had been on air 40 plus years, had 160 consecutive ratings wins in the morning time slot and is also the most decorated radio host in Australian Commercial Radio Award (ACRA) history. Mark was selected to fill Ray’s mighty shoes in December, 18 years to the day since he’d started at 2GB.
He said at the time:
“As a young kid I grew up listening to the talkback kings and to be taking over a timeslot that’s been owned by a mentor and a friend for the last 20 years is something I am excited about and extremely honoured to do. I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead and I can’t wait to speak to our loyal listeners every morning about the issues affecting them in what’s shaping up as an important election year.”
With respect to his predecessor, Mark chose to broadcast throughout the summer to settle in while most other metro talent took a six week break, and additionally maintain his Continuous Call Team roles on Friday Nights and Saturdays when the 2025 NRL season commenced.
Mark’s succession started well. GfK Radio 360 Survey 2 was a particular highlight as 2GB Mornings appeared to move ahead of the pack. But Survey 4 and 5, both in the thick of the NRL season, saw Mark fall behind smooth 95.3.
Today I’ve read in the Daily Telegraph (subscription required) that Pronto will close. In light of certain social media response to the news, the above is a broader picture of just how much Mark has been attempting to juggle.
Sometimes you have to let something go lest the whole house fall down. Respect to Mark for a very difficult decision and looking forward to a renewed radio focus.
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo.