WSFM breakfast duo Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones have claimed the top prize at the 35th annual Australian Commercial Radio Awards held at The Star in Sydney on Saturday night.
The duo won best on-air team for the fifth time, having previously won it in 2012, 2014, 2019, and 2023. The win for Keller and Jones comes just a week after they posted their best breakfast radio ratings since 2017. The pair signed long-term contracts with Australian Radio Network (ARN) in 2022.
WSFM’s Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones won the Best On Air team, for the fifth time at the ACRA Awards.Credit: ARN
Meanwhile, Saturday night’s awards also saw 2GB’s breakfast host Ben Fordham win Individual Talent of the Year (Metro). He also won the Best Talk Presenter (Metro) award for the second consecutive year.
The double victory was welcome news for Fordham, who was pipped in the all-important battle for breakfast by KIIS duo Kyle and Jackie O in the latest Sydney radio ratings survey.
On the subject of Kyle and Jackie O, there was finally something to smile about for radio’s two most high-profile talents. Their recent expansion into Melbourne has been met with mixed results, and the latest ratings, released on Tuesday, did not paint a pretty picture.
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According to ratings agency GfK, the pair, who have ruled Sydney FM breakfast radio for years dropped to eighth in the Melbourne breakfast market, sinking to a 5.2 per cent share, down from 6.1 per cent in the previous survey. Meanwhile, their audience dropped from 491,000 daily listeners in July to 420,000 in September.
Meanwhile, in their hometown of Sydney, the pair returned to the top of the ratings with a 13.7 per cent share. Despite a rocky few months, The Kyle & Jackie O Hour of Power (ARN) continued its dominance, winning Best Networked Program.
Elsewhere, Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne of Life Uncut were awarded Podcast Host(s) of the Year, while Hannah’s Story (9Podcasts, Nine Radio) was named Podcast of the Year. The true crime sensation, produced by Jess Lodge, Melissa Downes, and Adam Buncher, has captivated listeners across the country.
