Fox FM forced to cancel listener party in wake of coronavirus
Fox FM’s breakfast show ‘Fifi, Fev and Byron’ cancelled a listener event this morning, where hundreds of guests were meant to assemble on the station’s “World-Famous Rooftop” as part of a $30,000 competition giveaway.
Instead, listeners were given the option to ‘live stream’ the party on YouTube, which featured hosts Fifi Box, Brendan Fevola and Byron Cooke huddled on the rooftop attempting to conduct the party without guests.
The $30,000 as part of the Key Party was still given away.
On air first thing this morning, Cooke said the decision to take the party online was “fairly major” and definitely wasn’t how the station had wanted it to play out.
“The only twist, and it’s a last-minute twist that we’ve applied to the Key Party this morning, [is] we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting to have a Key Party without guests?’ And in the spirit of transparency, it does have a tiny bit to do with COVID-19,” Box added.
The trio joked that the virtual video party could be a glimpse into the future, while Cooke acknowledged the event wasn’t as fun as it would have been with actual guests “but the show must go on”.
Southern Cross Austereo, the owner of Fox FM, contacted would-be attendees last night, and put out a statement explaining the decision.
“We regret to inform you that we have made the tough decision to cancel tomorrow’s Fox FM Key Party event.
“As you know, the Novel Coronavirus (officially called COVID-19) is currently impacting our region and our world and our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected. We take the health and safety of our visitors and staff very seriously and like many businesses, we are now taking further precautionary measures regarding holding large events at our premises.”
Seems like a huge over-reaction. Hopefully all those involved in the decision have taken the necessary steps to ensure they have an adequate supply of toilet paper for the impending quarantine period.
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Really Matt? Can you see how dopey your comment is 24 hours later?
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