ABC's controversial move to replace one of its most beloved stars with The Project's Hamish Macdonald backfires
New ratings data released this week shows that Hamish, who took over Sarah's old Sydney Mornings slot on ABC Radio, is shedding listeners.
The results from the fourth radio ratings survey show that since Hamish took over the show at the start of 2025, the program has been in steady decline.
He scored a dismal 4.6 per cent of the audience in the ratings which surveyed the market between April 27 and July 5, a disappointing fall of 0.9 per cent.
The result pales against Sarah's last survey in November, where she managed to score a solid 6.2 per cent of the market.
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In other results, Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson had some good news, managing a strong showing in the Sydney region with 13.9 per cent of the audience share - a bump from the last survey's 12.5 per cent.
Still, there was bad news for the Kyle and Jackie O Show in the Melbourne market, where their sexed-up breakfast has failed to win listeners in big numbers all year.
This survey the pair scored a dismal 5.6 share of the audience in the Victorian capital.
Back in Sydney, Smooth FM startled pundits after beating 2GB, the long time favourite with listeners, to the number spot.
Smooth FM 95.3 won 12.3 per cent share overall to win 1.32 million listeners, while 2GB managed a rating of 11.6 per cent.
2GB's Ben Fordham is still the top-rating breakfast host, with a 14.7 per cent share of the available audience.
It comes after Hamish was revealed as the new host of Sydney Mornings on ABC Radio back in January.
He replaced Sarah Macdonald after she was unceremoniously dumped by the national broadcaster late last year.
2GB's Ben Fordham (pictured) is still the top-rating breakfast host
Macdonald hosts the program four days a week while journalist Kathryn Robinson helms the show on Friday.
'First and foremost I'd like to pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of Sarah Macdonald,' Hamish said. 'I know these are big shoes to fill.'
'I'm looking forward to putting my head down, getting to work from Monday and serving the wonderful 702 audience in what will be a huge year of news for Sydney.'
His reference to 702 is ABC Radio Sydney's wavelength on the dial.
The departure of Sarah was accompanied by that of Simon Marnie, who was also told his contract would not be renewed, while Richard Glover and Robbie Buck both left their respective programs.
Sarah Macdonald announced her 'disappointment' in departing from the ABC, telling her audience live on air that 'I'm not going to be on the radio with you next year.
'The ABC has decided not to renew my contract here at Mornings ... I am proud of what I've done.
'The ratings are up, I've broken lots of stories, had the first interview with the new Governor-General, I got the premier of New South Wales to regularly take your calls, led the election coverage, led the move to our Parramatta studios.'
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