KIIS FM is reeling this week as a major star has reportedly been given marching orders from the network.
Mitch Churi will finish up at the end of the year, the Daily Telegraph claimed on Tuesday.
He has hosted The Night Show with Mitch Churi since 2019, and co-hosts The Pick Up with Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne.
The decision was made for ‘financial reasons’ the paper claims, and Mitch, who has not been on the air since Thursday, was given the bad news on Tuesday.
‘Mitch is shattered and completely blindsided,’ the publication quoted a ‘colleague’ of the radio star as saying.
The news is said to have ‘shocked’ KIIS FM star Kyle Sandilands, and left the future of Hockley and Byrne’s show in doubt.
KIIS FM is reeling this week as a major star has reportedly been given marching orders from the network. Mitch Churi (pictured) will finish up at the end of the year, the Daily Telegraph claimed on Tuesday
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to KIIS FM for comment.
It comes after news that Kyle Sandilands will reduce graphic sexual content on his KIIS FM radio show next year to appeal to the Melbourne market.
The Kyle & Jackie O show suffered another small dip in the seventh GFK radio ratings in the Victorian capital this week.
Sitting at eighth position in the Breakfast slot with a 5.1 per cent share, the duo slipped well behind Nova’s Jase and Lauren, as well as Triple M and ABC Melbourne.
In a bid to make a dent in Melbourne, ARN’s chief content officer Duncan Campbell says Sandilands will have to dial back on the ‘smut’ and inappropriate on-air remarks.
‘The sexual content was really a small part of the show,’ he told Mumbrella.
‘Because it was graphic, it grabbed everyone’s attention – but [Kyle’s] taken that off, really.’
‘It’s still sexual content. But not the graphic sexual content that it once was.’
He has hosted The Night Show with Mitch Churi since 2019, and co-hosts The Pick Up with Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne
His departure has left the future of Brittany and Laura’s show in doubt. Pictured: Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne
The news is said to have ‘shocked’ KIIS FM star Kyle Sandilands (pictured with Jackie ‘O’ Henderson)
Campbell also told the outlet that Sandilands ‘came to the table’ with toning down on the graphic content.
‘He agreed to do that, which was a real positive,’ he added.
‘And, I mean, he wants to win in Melbourne. There’s no doubt about that.’
Elsewhere, the CCO also promised their marketing tactics will be ‘less brash and unapologetic’.
‘We believe, with the removal of the graphic sexual content, the show’s much, much easier to listen now,’ he said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Kyle Sandilands for comment.
Meanwhile, in Sydney, Sandilands and his co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson have once again claimed the top position for their breakfast time slot despite a drop to 13.1 per cent of the audience.
WSFM’s Jonesy & Amanda are now Sydney’s second top rating breakfast show with a 11.3 per cent share.
Meanwhile, Nova 100’s Jase & Lauren beat Kyle and Jackie O in Melbourne’s radio wars with a 11 per cent share.
Coming second in Melbourne is previous leaders Fifi, Fev & Nick on The Fox, pulling in 10.2 per cent of the audience.
