Ben Fordham, Jonesy and Amanda win big at radio awards

WSFM breakfast duo Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones have claimed the top prize at the 35th annual Australian Commercial Radio Awards held at The Star in Sydney on Saturday night.

The duo won best on-air team for the fifth time, having previously won it in 2012, 2014, 2019, and 2023. The win for Keller and Jones comes just a week after they posted their best breakfast radio ratings since 2017. The pair signed long-term contracts with Australian Radio Network (ARN) in 2022.

WSFM’s Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones won the Best On Air team, for the fifth time at the ACRA Awards.Credit: ARN

Meanwhile, Saturday night’s awards also saw 2GB’s breakfast host Ben Fordham win Individual Talent of the Year (Metro). He also won the Best Talk Presenter (Metro) award for the second consecutive year.

The double victory was welcome news for Fordham, who was pipped in the all-important battle for breakfast by KIIS duo Kyle and Jackie O in the latest Sydney radio ratings survey.

On the subject of Kyle and Jackie O, there was finally something to smile about for radio’s two most high-profile talents. Their recent expansion into Melbourne has been met with mixed results, and the latest ratings, released on Tuesday, did not paint a pretty picture.

According to ratings agency GfK, the pair, who have ruled Sydney FM breakfast radio for years dropped to eighth in the Melbourne breakfast market, sinking to a 5.2 per cent share, down from 6.1 per cent in the previous survey. Meanwhile, their audience dropped from 491,000 daily listeners in July to 420,000 in September.

Meanwhile, in their hometown of Sydney, the pair returned to the top of the ratings with a 13.7 per cent share. Despite a rocky few months, The Kyle & Jackie O Hour of Power (ARN) continued its dominance, winning Best Networked Program.

Elsewhere, Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne of Life Uncut were awarded Podcast Host(s) of the Year, while Hannah’s Story (9Podcasts, Nine Radio) was named Podcast of the Year. The true crime sensation, produced by Jess Lodge, Melissa Downes, and Adam Buncher, has captivated listeners across the country.

This year saw the return of the Gudinski Australian Music Champion Award, named in honour of Mushroom Music founder Michael Gudinski. The gong was won for a second year running by Matty O’Gorman, drummer for Melbourne rock band British India, for his work on Triple M’s Homegrown with Matty O.

In a moving nod by the industry, Australia’s longest-serving disc jockey, Bob Rogers OAM, was named as this year’s Hall of Fame inductee.

Bob Rogers was inducted into the ACRA Hall of Fame on Saturday night.Credit: Steven Siewert

The veteran radio presenter, who had a broadcasting career spanning 78 years, died earlier this year, bringing to an end one of the most storied journeys in Australian radio history. Rogers began his career as a panel operator for Melbourne-based 3XY in 1942 before stints at 7HO Hobart, followed by Brisbane’s 4BH and then Sydney’s 2UE.

Other major award winners included:

• Best On-Air Team (Metro): Jonesy & Amanda, WSFM, Sydney NSW, ARN
• Station of the Year (Metro): 2GB; Sydney, NSW, Nine Radio
• Individual Talent of the Year (Metro): Ben Fordham, 2GB, Sydney NSW, Nine Radio
• Best Networked Show: The Kyle & Jackie O Hour of Power, KIIS Network, Sydney NSW, AR
• Best Talk Presenter (Metro): Ben Fordham, 2GB, Sydney NSW, Nine Radio
• Podcast of the Year: Hannah’s Story, 9Podcasts, VIC, Nine Radio
• Podcast Host(s) of the Year: Brittany Hockley & Laura Byrne, Life Uncut, ARN/iHeart, Sydney NSW
• Best Podcast by a Radio Show: The Reporter True Stories, 6PR, Perth WA, Nine Radio
• Most Innovative DAB Format: iHeartTrivia, iHeartRadio Team, NSW, ARN

Nine, the publisher of this masthead, is the majority owner of Macquarie Media, the broadcaster of 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and Macquarie Sports.

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