According to The Australian, 4BC’s Laurel Gary and Mark have cut their holiday short and will return on air this morning (Monday April 8), a week earlier than planned.
This comes as there are indications Peter Fegan and Sofie Formica are keen to keep the slot permanently. Fegan was heard saying at the end of last week’s show “Thank you for listening, it’s been a trial (i.e. they’ve been on trial for the slot)”, with Formica heard giggling in the background. Fegan went on to say “I hope we get to do this again sometime down the road”.
Geez, feels like they’re at the stage of a struggling footy coach who has “the full support of the board”. Meanwhile, the assistant is already lined up to take over…
That’s the truth of it I suspect. 4BH is run on a shoestring by all accounts and I guess they’d have baulked at having to splash out on 3 salaries when they could get BBQ Bob for 1 salary - and he hasn’t turned out too shabby for them - so I think any talk of them ending up at 4BH 2 years on is for the birds
Yes Fred Marica was let go from weekend overnights too, although he said on air he has been offered the opportunity to stay at the station for cover and other on air opportunities, possibly another slot, and he said he had accepted. I understand from what Fred said that an offer has also been made to Jon Lewis and he is considering that whilst away on a break.
The Continuous Call Team coverage of the Cowboys v Parramatta has been partially pre-empted the past couple of hours, due to extended coverage of the Bondi Junction stabbing incident.
Ben Fordham has been in the studio providing updates and interviews including the Prime Minister.
It seems its been going to network stations also, as it’s been coming into 4BC as well.
Pat Panetta really flailing in his coverage of the big news event in Sydney tonight. The fact 2GB still played the ridiculous country music program is one issue, but the fact they are unable to play pre-recorded grabs from hours earlier post midnight is very embarrassing.
Footy is back and fans are flocking to Nine’s talk stations for the very best coverage of all the action – both on and off the field.
March live audio streaming figures, verified by Triton, show YoY growth across Nine’s footy programs: 2GB and 4BC’s Continuous Call Team, Wide World of Sports, and AFL on 3AW and 6PR.
Year to date overall, Sydney’s 2GB is up 19% in total listening hours. Melbourne’s 3AW is up 14% and nationally, Nine’s talk stations are also up 14% – cementing the clear trend in Nine’s live audio streaming audience growth in 2024.
SESSION STARTS
TOTAL LISTENING HOURS
10.1M
10.73M
Nine Radio Head of Content, Greg Byrnes, said: “We know our audience loves the footy and that’s been reflected in these stunning figures. With the NRL and AFL generating plenty of talk on and off the field we’ve seen our market dominance in streaming strengthen during March.”
“And as the official broadcaster of the Paris Olympic and Paralympics even more sports fans will be connecting to our content through a digital device. Listenership is only set to get stronger throughout the year and we’ll have all the colour and excitement live.”
Source: Triton Webcast Metrics Streaming, March 1-31 2024, TLH – Total Listening Hours, Nine Radio, Unless otherwise specified
The whisper out of Nine Radio’s Brisbane bunker is that the breakfast trio at 4BC senses it’s in strife.
So much so, the team are cutting their two-week holiday short to return to the airwaves after having just one week away.
The show’s hosts, Laurel Edwards, Gary Clare and Mark Hine, are back on Monday despite the week not counting in the official ratings period,
Spies told Diary the trio were originally scheduled to be away for a fortnight, leaving Peter “read a room” Fegan and Sofie Formica to fill in for them on week one of their break, and then Fegan taking the reins solo for week two.
But with the trio’s ratings continuing to slide, there’s no time for an extended holiday.
