Different perspectives: Yumi Stynes and Sami Lukis.
It's about time. That's what many within the industry think of the Australian Radio Network's decision to put Sami Lukis and Yumi Stynes together in the hosting spot to become Sydney's first all-female breakfast show next year.
The duo will replace Tim Rosso – who will move to the drive shift (and take on his former partner Merrick Watts who does the same shift at Triple M) – and Claire Hooper, who had advised she would not be renewing her contract at the end 2012.
The inspired decision has been welcomed by many. Women in radio – particularly in the high traffic ratings hotspot seat at breakfast – are few and far between.
"The decision was to make sure Mix 106.5 becomes a more competitive station and a more successful station and we thought having a point of difference at breakfast with two women on the air means we can offer something different to Kyle and Jackie O on TodayFM who dominate ratings," ARN's national content director Duncan Campbell told Fairfax Media.
"It is something we have trialled and pioneered in Melbourne with Chrissie Swan and Jane Hall – there last survey was up to 5.7 – and it has gone remarkably well and been hugely successful. This will give Mix a real chance to ensure there is a unique point of difference at breakfast."
Campbell says they trialled a number of high profile women together but settled on Lukis and Stynes who fit the station's 25-44 year old female demographic. Lukis, who is on holidays, has been co-hosting the Ant & Sami Lukis show on MixFM in the drive time slot, as well as conducting personal tours for women to New York, while Stynes has most recently been in the headlines when she was dumped by Network Ten, along with her mid-morning chat show The Circle, after sparking a social media firestorm by casting aspersions on the intelligence and sexual prowess of a Victoria Cross-decorated soldier. She also had a national radio program, the 3pm Pick Up on Mix FM.
"The key to these two is that they are very different and it was quite a process to bring these two together and we have taken the time to do that," Campbell said.
"They are two very different girls and two very different perspectives and through the trials we've done it will be a fun show which is hugely relatable and to some degree a lot of intrigue with there differences of opinion.
"Yumi is married with two kids and Sami is single and dating. Yumi is down to earth with an edge which makes her interesting and Sam is more aspirational, more the girl about town if you like. We did look at a few combinations but the thing about breakfast radio is it is five days a week and three hours a day so that eliminated a lot of people."
Of the move Sami and Yumi said: “We're really excited to be joining Mix 106.5 for breakfast in 2013. The two of us are especially proud that we'll be Sydney's only all-female breakfast team. We're going to bring a fresh perspective to the kinds of things that we ourselves – and our audience – go through every day.”
The move has been welcomed by others in the industry with Prue MacSween, a long time media commentator who has had her own show on 2UE, telling Fairfax Media she was thrilled with the news, even though her plans to co-host a breakfast show on 2UE with Tracey Spicer stumbled at the negotiation stage.
"The fact that mix has had this brainwave is inspired – these two women will do extremely well – half of the audience, or more than half in most cases, are women – why can't they provide relevant radio to women? I don't get it. Good on Mix, I'm jealous as hell. I wish I'd been given the gig and good luck to them," she said.
Of her own doomed attempt at taking on Ray Hadley, MacSween was candid: "They offered us poop! So it didn't happen. I couldn't live on it so we had to say no which was very disappointing.
"There's this ridiculous view held by virtually [all] male programmers – apart from the insightful few – who believe people don't like listening to women on radio and that is so far from the truth.
"If you have something interesting and entertaining to say people will listen to you. In this day and age that women are represented on radio is dinosaur thinking."
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