They have tried and tried locally to get a show that works. Si and Phil (and then Si and Gary) were such a juggernaut that when they left ZM in the late 90s and went to More they were pulling 20+ shares on some books and 97.7 (or B98) as it used to go by cycled through plenty of breakfast shows to try and hit on a winning formula but not resonated. Ironically, Si and Phil now broadcast out of the same studio (well, adjacent) as Brodie and Fitzy!
Also in some surveys, the old ZB breakfast show with John Dunne was pulling near 20s as well as Si + Phil/Gary so in some books you were looking at virtually 40percent if not more of the listening market got in a flash.
Itâs a shame that there is only one local ChCh breakfast show left now in The Breeze, given just over a decade ago ZB, Classic Hits, More, The Breeze were all local.
I note NZME are working to find Brodie and Fitzy other opportunitiesâŚI hope they find gigs.
With Jono and Ben now going national on The Hits, whatâs going to happen to the (soon to be former) Hits breakfast hosts in Hawkeâs Bay and the South Island?
@Reece In those early days, the majority of radio stations here in New Zealand were âlive and localâ. Each station had local personalities and breakfast DJs. Nowadays, local radio stations have been replaced by national networks with the inclusion of local advertising and some local content.
To be fair their employers NZME could have handled it better and been clear about that when they announced Jono and Benâs breakfast gig. They were vague about the future of the local shows when asked and their own press release made no mention of the local shows what so ever.
Thanks Paddy - I am quite well aware of that fact already lol
not a fan of jono and ben or the station not their target market but shame someone has to lose their job that is never nice but i guess the HIts has to try something to compete with the other national brekky shows ie More fm as clearly the local duo tended not to resinate with chch yet the breeze local station does not have the same issue maybe the hits didnt promote them as much
Jono and Ben are irritable and annoying. Never been able to listen to them and was not a fan of their tv show.
They were suited for the rock, not the edge and now certainly not the hits.
There was nothing worse than listening to Jono poorly tell a joke that isnât funny then him laughing at his own joke. Theyâre painful and I really hope this flops.
Jono & Ben = 2 Major EGOâs seriously the hits I just canât see it working they are suited for Hauraki which is where they were originally going.
& For fitzy & Brodie to lose their slot for a national new breakfast slot itâs just plain crazy.
I donât mind Jono too much but find Ben about as dull as Mike Puru to listen to. It will be interesting to see how Edge Afternoons rates with them gone, have tuned in occasionally & it doesnât seem to have gone downhill muchâŚ
Btw Thane Kirbyâs Big Rig Country hits which was originally being made for Rova is now part of Radio Schmadio (whatever the hell that is)
i found them childish on the tv show they did
not even funny feel sorry for hits listeners who will get them
but they were never my target audience anyhow
If Brodie and Fitzy are still contracted, it would be good to see them have a national Mix Breakfast show. Have it more music focused and stretch it out until 10.
Push Tracey Donaldson out by an hour and get an afternoon announcer and theyâve got themselves a competitive station
Iâve been wondering if they might push them onto Mix locally in Chch? They have that 106.5 frequency which is going full commercial/power later this year. Mix has a local breakfast show in Nelson now, perhaps Christchurch next? Intriguing idea about a network show. I do think they are missing a trick with Mix network wise, could be bigger than it is.
Definitely a good idea. 105.7FM is the frequency in question. 106.5FM is already a full power Sugarloaf frequency with Hauraki.
If I were the powers that be at NZME I would axe the Hokonui brand and merge it into Mix. Good way to expand the Mix brand and give it some more announcers which it is lacking. I wouldnât bother moving The Country over though (Simulcasting across ZB and Radio Sport is enough!) Even some voice tracking would be better than nothing, they could utilise The Hits local hosts for those shifts.