NZME radio changes: Jono and Ben to The Hits Breakfast, Toni Street, Sam Wallace and Laura McGoldrick's new gigs

NZ Herald

13 Feb, 2020 09:00 PM3 mins to read

Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce will host The Hits Breakfast. Photo / File

Some of the nation's most famous radio voices will occupy new slots in 2020, as NZME rolls out major lineup changes.

From April, popular comedy duo Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce will host The Hits Breakfast, with the current breakfast hosts Toni Street and Sam Wallace moving to Coast to a new powered-up breakfast show with Jason Reeves. Laura McGoldrick will present her own afternoon show on The Hits.

"McGoldrick's one-hour 3pm Pick Up Show on The Hits is an innovative new approach to afternoon programming. It's designed to showcase Laura's great talent and reach an engaged audience whether they're on the school run or just need a pick-up at work," NZME chief radio and commercial officer Wendy Palmer said.

Laura McGoldrick will present an afternoon show on The Hits. Photo / File

Palmer said the changes would supercharge the shows and ensure that audiences are given a wide spread of talent throughout the day.

"NZME is home to the best radio talent in New Zealand," Palmer said.

"When you line up the new breakfast teams on Coast and The Hits with Jeremy Wells and Matt Heath on Hauraki, Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB and ZM's Fletch, Vaughan and Megan you have an incredible breakfast portfolio right across our radio networks, including Radio Sport and Flava."

Sam Wallace and Toni Street will join Jason Reeves on Coast. Photo / File

The changes are the result of an extensive review of NZME's radio strategy.

"We've taken a close look at where our audiences are and ensured our hosts are on the networks that deliver our audiences more of what they want," said Palmer.

Today's changes follow on from the creation last year of the successful The Hits Drive Show with Stacey Morrison, Mike Puru and Anika Moa. An announcement will be made soon on the new Radio Hauraki Drive Show.

NZME CEO Michael Boggs said the New Zealand radio industry is one of the most competitive in the world.

"One of the keys to winning or losing comes down to talented entertainers being given the best opportunity to deliver the great content they love producing - so they can grow their audiences," Boggs said.

"The changes we've announced today reflect our ongoing strategic commitment to growing radio revenue and capability. This is exciting news for our advertisers and commercial partners as we ensure our brands evolve with audience and customer expectations."