A new-look Breakfast show will headline a revamped Radio National in 2025, with fill-in hosts Sally Sara and Steve Cannane early front-runners to replace the departing Patricia Karvelas.
Announced on Wednesday morning, Karvelas is the first major change to come as a result of an ongoing review into Radio National, which has endured a steady decline in audience.
Karvelas leaves after three years, having replaced long-term host Fran Kelly in early 2022 and will take on a new role as an anchor on the ABC’s news channel in 2025, covering national politics, as well as hosting a new podcast, alongside her existing duties as host of Q+A and The Party Room.
While the ABC said it will announce replacement soon, there is speculation the program could implement a new format with multiple hosts, mirroring the British public broadcaster BBC’s like-for-like Today program on Radio 4.
‘Real impact’
While it remains highly influential, the station’s reach and total audience have declined severely over the last three years. The most recent radio ratings survey pegged its audience share at just 1.5 per cent in Sydney, and 1.8 per cent in Melbourne. The Breakfast show had a 2 per cent share in Sydney and 2.2 in Melbourne. In 2021, its audience share sat at 4.6 and 4.5 per cent respectively.
While ABC radio audiences have fallen across the board, Breakfast’s total audience in Australia’s two largest cities has halved over that period. In Melbourne, the show’s cumulative audience fell from 147,000 to 62,000, and from 140,000 to 70,000 in Sydney.
ABC chair Kim Williams has outlined his intention to expand and revamp Radio National’s services, with aspirations to emulate the footprint and influence of BBC’s Radio 4.
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