Pete Curulli replaces Ryan Jon on Hit 92.9’s breakfast show
Ryan Jon has left Perth’s Hit 92.9 breakfast show effective immediately. Jon made the decision to leave for family reasons, and will move to regional Victoria to join his fiancée.
He will be replaced by Pete Curulli who joins remaining co-hosts Heidi Anderson and Xavier Ellis to form Heidi, Xavier & Pete from July 29.
Heidi, Xavier & Pete
“I’ve spoken (and shed many tears) on the show about Brigitte and my struggle to start a family and without going into the full birds and bee’s chat, living apart certainly hasn’t helped. Since our engagement and the body clock continuing to tick, I believe living together again was the most important thing for us,” said Jon.
“SCA and the Hit 92.9 staff have been incredibly supportive in my decision, and, I’d love to thank the Hit 92.9 team in Perth for having me over the last few years and I wish them all the best for the future.”
Curulli joins the lineup having held the spot for the last few weeks while Jon has been on leave, and from his current position as the host of The Rush Hour on Mix 94.5. Both Mix 94.5 and Hit 92.9 are owned by Southern Cross Austereo.
Hit 92.9’s content director Tim Arnold said: “I know this decision certainly wasn’t easy for Ryan, but the burden of distance can be incredibly tough to maintain, and while Ryan will most definitely be missed by the entire team here, we can’t wait to see him thrive with Brigitte back by his side.”
“Pete recently did a short fill-in spot with Heidi & Xavier, and the fun that came out of the speakers was infectious. It’s incredibly exciting to have Pete return to the station he got his start at years ago.”
Curulli started as a street teamer for Hit 92.9 15 years ago and said he was thrilled to be joining the team.
“My life is here, my whole family is here, I love Perth, it’s my home and the most exciting thing is getting to do a brekky show for the home team.”
The search to replace Curulli on Mix 94.5’s The Rush Hour is underway and will be announced as soon as possible.
Hit 92.9 current holds a 7.9% audience share in the Perth market, as of the most recent GfK radio survey four, putting the station ahead of 96 FM and behind market leaders Nova 93.7 on 14.2%.
