Seven star Basil Zempilas puts Nine radio gig aside

Perth media personality Basil Zempilas is parting ways with the Nine Network as he prepares to find out on Saturday if he will become lord mayor.

Perth media personality Basil Zempilas. Picture: Colin Murty

Perth’s omnipresent media personality Basil Zempilas is parting ways with the Nine Network as he prepares to find out on Saturday if his hometown wants him as lord mayor.

The AFL caller and Olympics broadcaster has long been a star at Kerry Stokes’ Seven West Media while, across town, he has been one half of 6PR radio’s popular breakfast line-up with Steve Mills since 2014.

Rumours swirled that the writing was on the wall for his breakfast gig when Seven’s rival Nine took full control of 6PR from the Macquarie Network last year.

After months of speculation that at least one of Zempilas’s paymasters would not allow him to continue to juggle dual roles at competing media networks, he confirmed on Thursday that he would finish at 6PR next month.

“I’ve had an unbelievable time at 6PR and have been very proud of our successes and my partnership with Steve Mills,” Zempilas said on Thursday. “I will miss being a part of 6PR Breakfast very much.”

Seven West Media said: “It’s Basil’s call. Basil is out of contract with 6PR at the end of 2020 and has taken the personal decision not to seek a new contract.”

Those familiar with the 49-year-old’s astonishing capacity for work were not surprised by reports he already had an alternate breakfast radio job waiting at Perth FM station Mix 94.5, owned by Austereo.

When Zempilas declared earlier this year that he would run for lord mayor, rivals questioned whether he would have the time.

He is a married father of three young children who is on air each weekday at 5am and anchors­ the sports segment on Seven each evening. He writes a weekly column in Seven’s The West Australian newspaper and leads Seven’s AFL and Olympics commentary. He has been a co-host of Weekend Sunrise and is drafted in by Seven for special events such as last year’s federal election leaders debate.

Zempilas and his main rival for the lord mayor’s job Di Bain, a former ABC journalist, have pulled in diverse endorsements. Bain supporters include Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, while Zempilas is backed by former AFL caller Dennis Cometti, who has folk hero status in WA.