The Australian Radio Network’s (ARN) Chief Audience and Content Officer Lauren Joyce has confirmed the station is axing its Brisbane breakfast show offering of ‘Robin, Kip & Corey Oats’, which airs on KIIS 97.3.
The show will come to an end on Friday, 12 December.
In an internal email, sighted by Mediaweek, Joyce said that while she “can’t reveal details just yet” the new show “will be bold, entertaining, and fast moving.”
The new show will be announced at the company’s Upfronts next month.
But, in a surprising turn of events, it won’t be a networked Kyle and Jackie O.
In the email, Joyce went on to say the new show will be “live and local”, adding that “we can’t reveal all the details just yet, the new show will be bold, entertaining, and fast-moving with a renewed focus on energy and music.”
Sources have told Mediaweek that “anyone thinking K&J will be part of an announcement at the Upfronts is wrong”.
In an email, an ARN spokesperson confirmed the decision, saying: “After careful consideration, ARN has made the decision to bring the Robin, Kip & Corey Oates breakfast show on KIIS 97.3 to a close.
“We want to thank Robin, Kip, Corey, and the entire team, both on and off air for their hard work, creativity, and commitment to the Brisbane audience.”
The clues were there
Mediaweek chatted with Joyce in September following the release of Survey 5 of this year’s radio ratings.
When asked if Kyle and Jackie O would be calling Brisbane their new network home, following their lukewarm reception in Melbourne, Joyce replied: “Until we can prove their success in Melbourne, we won’t be taking them into Brisbane.”
Mediaweek later pressed Joyce on the same issue just a few weeks ago following the release of Survey 6 results, but she remained steadfast that the grand national plan is still in place, albeit with a few caveats: “I’ve always said the show stands on its own two feet. It’s universally entertaining content and, you know, when the time is right, we’ll absolutely be playing it to its strengths.”
It was back in 2023 when Kyle and Jackie O first signed their landmark 10-year, $200 million dollar deal with the intention, from both parties, to eventually send the show national.
Melbourne was first off the ranks, but, despite the millions spent in advertising, the show has not delivered. In Survey 6, the show, networked on KIIS 101.1, recorded a dip from 6.1 to 6.0.