Dumped Ray Hadley lost to regional Australia
Veteran radio broadcaster Ray Hadley has been dumped in regional Australia but it’s likely his replacement will be another former 2GB host.
Nine Entertainment’s biggest radio star, 2GB’s Ray Hadley, has been dumped by Triple M in a move that will see him lose a large audience across regional Australia.
Southern Cross Austereo – which owns Triple M – confirmed its relationship with the veteran broadcaster, which has lasted more than a decade, will end on June 30.
Hadley’s Morning Show airs from 9am to noon on weekdays and radio sources say it’s likely his replacement on Triple M regional stations will be former 2GB host Steve Price, whose show, Australia Today, airs on SCA’s new live-streamed radio LiSTNR app, from 7-10am.
One insider said it’s likely Price’s program will air on Triple M regional stations from 9-11am, then breakfast highlights will fill the 11am-noon hour.
A SCA spokeswoman confirmed the decision to end ties with Hadley. “SCA today confirmed that the Ray Hadley Morning Show will finish on NSW Triple M stations in Coffs Harbour, Griffith, Orange, Port Macquarie and Wagga on 30 June. Further announcements on replacements will be made in due course.”
Nine Entertainment would not comment on SCA’s decision.
Hadley’s program has dominated Sydney airwaves and in the latest radio survey rated 15.5 per cent. Price said his program on the LiSTNR app, which started in April, was “going well” and he “would be more than happy” to replace Hadley on Triple M’s NSW regional stations. “I’m now doing a talk program, Australia Today, with SCA and it would seem to me to be a natural fit to run it across the Triple M stations,” he said.
On Tuesday, radio ratings for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth will be released, one year after Ben Fordham took over 2GB’s coveted breakfast timeslot from Alan Jones. In the last survey, Fordham’s ratings fell to their lowest levels since he took over, with his 15.5 per cent audience share down 2.6 percentage points from the first survey of 2021.
In Melbourne breakfast show duo Ross Stevenson and Russel Howcroft fell in April to 21.5 per cent, down from 22.2.
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