Hobart’s top-rated breakfast radio show has been axed with barely a day’s notice as part of sweeping cost cuts by Southern Cross Austereo.
Hit100.9 duo Dan and Christie were told by network executives on Tuesday that their show would not continue after Wednesday.
Dan and Christie claimed the number one breakfast spot in Hobart during last year’s survey, surging 2.7 points to a 21.2% audience share and knocking Sarah, Mick and Johnno from 7HOFM off the top position.
The pair were in the middle of another survey period when the decision came down yesterday.
The show features born-and-bred Tasmanian Dan Taylor and former Home and Away actress Christie Hayes.
They replaced popular Hobart duo Jimmy and Nath in 2022.
In late 2023, SCA began networking the Hobart-based show across regional Victoria after axing local breakfast programs in that market.
It is understood a Newcastle-based breakfast show, Hit Newcastle’s Jess and Rohan, will now be networked into Hobart to replace them.
Dan and Christie will say their goodbyes on Wednesday June 17.
Local staff at SCA are understood to be furious at the decision and the lack of notice.
The axing was one of three regional show cancellations announced internally by SCA.
Triple M Hobart’s ‘Kaz and Tubes’ breakfast show, hosted by Karen McMullen and Dan Taylor’s brother Andy ‘Tubes’ Taylor, has been confirmed safe as part of the cuts.
SCA’s head of Broadcast Content (Audio) Matt O’Reilly confirmed the changes in an internal memo.
“We have had to make some incredibly difficult decisions regarding a few of our regional shows – choices that we don’t make lightly,” O’Reilly said.
The cuts come as parent company Southern Cross Media Group pushes through a broader cost reduction program, with up to 300 employees set to leave the business before the end of June.
The media group, formed from the merger of Southern Cross Media and Seven West Media in January, has downgraded its full-year earnings guidance to between $185 million and $190 million, down from a previous range of $200 million to $220 million.
Managing Director Rohan Lund said the cuts were unavoidable.
“We must reset our cost base to meet current market conditions and capture the full benefits of scale across our trusted platforms for our audiences and advertisers, now and into the future,” Lund said.
The cuts have impacted 7NEWS journalists positions across mainland Australia, however whether any job losses have been suffered at 7NEWS Tasmania is not yet known.
7NEWS Tasmania came under fire last month after losing several key staff when it shifted presentation of its statewide TV news bulletin from Launceston to Hobart and control to Canberra last month.
