Fair bit going on in radio at the moment, wouldn’t you say?
But Ben Harvey and Liam Stapleton aren’t losing sleep over it. If anything, they’re leaning into a kind of shrug-it-off philosophy, equal parts Alfred E. Neuman and seasoned radio survival instinct.
“Things change all the time,” Harvey told Mediaweek, as ARN’s broader noise, including the Kyle and Jackie O saga, continues to swirl in the background.
For a duo that’s just come off a messy, high-profile exit, they’re not worried, mainly because they’ve seen this movie before.
From Nova fallout to KIIS reset
Let’s rewind.
In September last year, Harvey and Stapleton, alongside co-host Belle Jackson, were told their Nova 6–8pm show would wrap in December. Weeks later, a new opportunity emerged: a 2026 breakfast deal with Adelaide’s Mix 102.3, now KIIS 102.3.
That move brought everything forward.
Once Nova became aware of the deal, the trio were pulled from the air in October. A six-month non-compete followed, keeping them off the airwaves just as momentum was building.
Stapleton doesn’t sugar-coat it.
“Obviously, when you aren’t offered a contract, and then you’re held to a non-compete, it’s not ideal. But it was also inevitable that we would be starting here on the 1st of April anyway.
“It felt a little like forced annual leave because we’ve been doing the show for 12 years now. And we’ve never had a decent break. I mean, you get lots of holidays in radio, to be fair, but we haven’t had a proper break.”
Six months off, differently spent
The break landed very differently for each of them.
For Harvey, it coincided with something bigger than radio.
“I had a daughter, a second child. She was born the week we got the Nova news. So I’ve literally been at home since she was born. It’s pretty unreal that I’ve been at home for the last six months with my daughter.”
Stapleton, meanwhile, went the other way.
“I sort of like to do a bit of stuff on social media. So I’ve been gallivanting a little bit. I went to the US for a little bit, went to the UK for a little bit, just doing like work here and there and just enjoying it, living it up.”
First show nerves, and yes, the bosses are watching
Now, as KIIS 102.3 prepares to launch its new Adelaide breakfast show, the tone shifts. Slightly.
“It feels like sort of first day back at school kind of vibes,” Harvey said.
“It’s mainly excitement. There’s that little bit of nerves there, but of course, that’s because you care.
“We’re not nervous about doing the radio show, because that comes naturally to us. We’re nervous that all the bosses are coming to town to watch the first show.”
It’s a neat encapsulation of where ARN finds itself, too. A big bet, and a new lineup at a time when the network finds itself in the precarious spot of trying to promote its future vision, albeit one without the stars they banked on so heavily.
Stapleton, meanwhile, is clear on the brief and up for the challenge.
“We want to get the show to number one. That’s kind of the plan, just like it would be for every other breakfast show around the country. It’s when you’ve got a job to do, that’s when you want to sort of do the best job at it.”
For ARN, the Adelaide breakfast reset is more than a programming tweak. It’s part of a broader push to sharpen its metro offering, particularly under the KIIS brand.