Nova 100’s Jase Hawkins and Lauren Phillips have revealed what they really thought about leaving their old job as they offered a heartfelt thank you to their fans.
The radio duo were celebrating one year of Jase and Lauren for breakfast on the Nova network, after being dumped by KIIS FM in 2023.
‘We just want to thank everyone for listening to our show. It was one year ago today that we were told no one wanted to listen to us on the radio,’ Lauren said on-air during the broadcast on Friday morning.
‘We got shafted a year ago to the day,’ added Jase.
The radio stars were blindsided when their Melbourne breakfast show was axed last year to make way for Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson’s big expansion into the city from Sydney.
‘We love waking up with you in the mornings,’ Lauren continued.
Nova 100’s Jase Hawkins and Lauren Phillips have revealed what they really thought about leaving their old job as they offered a heartfelt thank you to their fans. The radio duo were celebrating one year of Jase and Lauren for breakfast on the Nova network, after being dumped by KIIS FM in 2023. Both pictured
‘We just want to thank everyone for listening to our show. It was one year ago today that we were told no one wanted to listen to us on the radio,’ Lauren said on-air during the broadcast on Friday morning. ‘We got shafted a year ago to the day,’ added Jase
‘It’s been a roller coaster of a year for us. We love being here. This has been the greatest professional year of my life.
‘Thank you to everyone for making this switch and sticking with us. I think a year ago, if you could have told us we would be here right now doing this, our little minds would have exploded. We wouldn’t have believed it,’ she added.
Their comments come as radio’s feared months of November and December – informally known by those in the industry as ‘axing season’ – began with two shock announcements last week.
Popular radio star Mark ‘MG’ Geyer was blissfully unaware his days at Triple M were numbered – until Wednesday afternoon when the Sydney breakfast show co-host was sensationally given the boot.
Meanwhile, KIIS FM presenter Mitch Churi broke down live on-air on Wednesday around the same time, as he confirmed to listeners he had been sacked from the network.
The radio star, who co-hosted The Pick Up drive time show alongside Laura Byrne and Brittany Hockley, became emotional as he revealed the heartbreaking news to his co-stars.
‘Late last week I was informed by the powers that be that they have identified my role here as one that won’t be returning in 2025,’ Mitch said.
The Daily Telegraph reported the major star had been given marching orders for ‘financial reasons,’ akin to Lauren and Jase’s experience in 2023.
The radio stars were blindsided when their Melbourne breakfast show was axed last year to make way for Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson’s big expansion into the city from Sydney. Kyle and Jackie O are pictured
‘It’s been a roller coaster of a year for us. We love being here. This has been the greatest professional year of my life,’ said Lauren
Kyle and Jackie O took their breakfast radio show to Melbourne in April in a huge multimillion-dollar expansion deal, which triggered the axing of Jase and Lauren’s KIIS FM breakfast show.
At the time, an unapologetic Kyle said he felt indifferent to his competitors being sacked as it ultimately came down to who was attracting the most listeners.
‘No, I don’t care. That’s why we went for Melbourne, we were like, “We’ve given this Jase and Lauren on KIIS FM a good run, it can’t get over fourth in the radio ratings, so we’ll take it”‘,’ he told news.com.au.
However, Jase and Lauren had the last laugh, with their new show on Nova 100 out-rating The Kyle and Jackie O Show in Melbourne in September.
The comedic chat show took home the coveted number one spot in the 5th radio ratings survey results for 2024 from GFK.
Jase and Lauren’s popular program gained 0.3 points and rose to 9.9 per cent in audience share, giving it a clear lead over rivals The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
Kyle and Jackie O trailed significantly at a 6.1 per cent share, after its premiere in Melbourne on April 29, and was the city’s fifth most listened to breakfast show.
However, Melbourne newcomers Kyle and Jackie O still marked a slight rise in the city’s ratings, from 5.9 to 6.1 per cent.