Hughesy & Kate show axed early after swipe at program director
Kiis FM has taken the unusual step of taking its national drivetime show and Melbourne breakfast show off air a fortnight early without telling the presenters in advance.
Next year drivetime hosts Dave Hughes and Kate Langbroek will switch to rival Hit Network, while Laurie and Tilley’s poorly rating show was dropped by Kiis.
While the presenters lost the opportunity to say goodbye to their listeners, the move also reduces the possibility of them going rogue in their final days on air for the Australian Radio Network owned station.
Hughesy & Kate show will move to rival network
ARN’s national content director Duncan Campbell may have lost his appetite to allow Hughes and Langbroek to do a lap of honour after they appeared to taunt him on air when their move to Hit was first announced in October.
In their first moments on air after the deal was announced, Hughes told listeners: “We’ll be sad to leave a lot of good people who work here at this network.”
Langbroek then interjected: “But luckily there’s not a lot of them.” She then introduced a “special shoutout to my favourite”, before playing a clip of Slim Dusty singing “I love to have a beer with Duncan”.
Campbell: Langbroek’s so-called ‘favourite’
The duo appeared to guess what their bosses had planned.
In the final seconds of Friday’s show, Hughes said “See you next week everyone… hopefully… we’ll see how we go.”
Langbroek added: “If not, goodbye til we meet again.”
Hughes later posted a message on Twitter confirming the show was over.
Just found out today was @HughesyAndKate’s last Drive Shift at @ausradionetwork. We’ve had a blast with so many good people there and are pumped to be on @HitNetworkAUS in 2018! #lucky
— Dave Hughes (@DHughesy) November 24, 2017
Meanwhile, Laurie used Facebook to tell her listeners that she had received the same treatment, describing her experience with Kiis as “a deeply weird two years”.
The last radio audience survey of the year ends in a fortnight, on December 9.
Next year, Kiis will replace Dave Hughes and Kate Langbroek in the drivetime slot with Will McMahon and Woody Whitelaw, who currently present the breakfast show on Southern Cross Austereo’s Perth station Hit92.9.
And New Zealand duo Polly ‘PJ’ Harding and Jase Hawkins will host Kiis101.1 FM’s Melbourne breakfast program from the start of the year.
Meanwhile, Hughes and Langbroek will take on the drivetime slot previously occupied by Hamish Blake and Andy Lee.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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best wishes to Dave…Kate has never been a fave of mine!
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Can their early departure be explained by Kate’s ‘swipe’ given how much time elapsed? If they were connected, you’d think the axe would have swung right after, rather than a few weeks later? Must be more to it, I reckon.
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Well, thats it for me – i will be listen to hit network from now on…
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You have lost me KISS, good luck with your ratings!!!
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First The Thinker Girls now this?! Wtf is Kiss Fm thinking?! I’m out. Over to Fox FM I go…
You suck Kiss!!! Get ready to fo bankrupt in 2018!!!
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Could not believe you would let go of the best DJ’s I’ve ever heard! Listened to Will & Woody who sound ok but not a patch on Hughesy & Kate who are sensational! Find it hard to believe Kyle and Jackie O have good ratings. I guess it’s herd mentality.
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