Bye bye Hughesy and Kate: End of an era for KIIS FM hosts

KIIS FM is puckering up for some major changes with Drive hosts Dave Hughes and Kate Langbroek understood to be parting ways with the radio station at the end of the year.

KIIS FM is puckering up for some major changes with Drive hosts Dave Hughes and Kate Langbroek understood to be parting ways with the radio station at the end of the year.

KIIS FM’s Dave Hughes and Kate Langbroek. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis

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The hugely experienced pair joined KIIS to present their Hughsey and Kate national Drive program in early 2015 after a long career at radio rival, Nova.

Both Langbroek and Hughes are out of contract at the end of the year and with October so often the deal-sealing month in radio land, it is believed the pair won’t be moving into a new term with the station. It is unclear who will replace them.

And in what is tipped to be a top-to-tail refresh of KIIS in Melbourne, breakfast hosts Matt Tilley and Meshel Laurie are also understood to be signing off, with Jase Hawkins and Polly ‘PJ’ Harding hot favourites to land the high-profile timeslot in 2018.

The tipped changes could signal a move by management to reposition the station and make it more appealing to a slightly younger audience.

Rumours of changes at KIIS have been circling for months, owing to underwhelming ratings. The KIIS breakfast show in the most recent rating survey last week ranked sixth and last in the FM breakfast competitor set with a 6.1 share. Hughesy and Kate ranked fifth in the FM drive slot in the same survey.

KIIS FM breakfast hosts Meshel Laurie and Matt Tilley are also said to be signing off. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis

When approached for comment, ARN — the parent company of KIIS — wouldn’t confirm rumours but said “we will be making announcements about 2018 very shortly”.