Today FM co-host Mark Dye departs only four months after launch

Broadcaster Mark Dye has departed the show he co-hosts with Tova O'Brien and Carly Flynn after only four months.

Dye signed on as a host of the Today FM breakfast host for the launch of the Mediaworks-owned station in March.

However the MediaWorks communications team has confirmed to the Herald that Dye has departed the show, leaving co-hosts O'Brien and Carly Flynn.

Broadcaster Mark Dye will focus on his medicinal cannabis business. Photo / Supplied

"Mark has been balancing two roles - that of a Today FM host and also the CEO of Nubu Pharmaceuticals," said a MediaWorks spokesperson.

"Understandably, he's decided to focus on his business and so is leaving Today FM. Mark has played an important role in getting the Tova show off to the flourishing start we have had. We wish him nothing but the best for his future success."

Dye confirmed this, saying that he would be focusing his full attention on the medicinal cannabis business he started in 2018.

Dye told the Herald his company has already registered a number of cannabis products.

He said the growing interest from healthcare professionals around the country has made it difficult for him to juggle the two roles.

"All this coupled with our first exports just months away, unfortunately, meant my ability to work across two jobs was getting tougher and tougher," he said.

"Having spent over six years working tirelessly with Nubu's Co-Founder Will Douglas, to build Nubu into the market-leading company it is, I had to make the decision to focus all of my time and resources on Nubu. I've loved working with the Today FM team and wish them all the success in the future."

Dye has a long broadcasting history, having previously hosted Heartbreak Island as well as shows on Newstalk ZB.

Today FM's struggle for ratings

MediaWorks invested significantly in rebranding MagicTalk to Today FM, bringing in a range of new hosts to lead the talkback station.

It was hoped that these changes would help to boost the ratings of the show.

The GFK radio survey tracking listenership between January 30 and June 18 this year showed Today FM currently has 136,200 listeners across the day.

It's important to note that this survey still includes Magic Talk listenership until March 20 this year.

Comparing Today FM's current ratings with those from the first survey of 2022 (which also included a mix of Magic Talk and Today), listenership has dropped by 17,000 listeners.

Today FM's main competition in the commercial market is Newstalk ZB, which commanded an audience of 719,000 in the latest survey. However, this was down 24,900 from the previous radio survey. (Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald are owned by NZME).

When it comes to the key 6am-9am breakfast slot, Newstalk ZB has an audience of 504,000 (down 7500 from the previous survey) while Today FM has 68,500 (down 5,900 from the previous survey).

These early performance numbers indicate that Today FM still has a long way to go to challenge the supremacy of Newstalk ZB in the commercial talkback sector.