The finalists for the 28th annual Australian Commercial Radio Awards have been announced, with five-time winners Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson once again looking to reclaim the title of Best On-Air Team for metro FM radio.
The hosts of KIIS 1065’s the Kyle & Jackie O show will be up against three-time winners Hamish Blake and Andy Lee of Hit Network’s the Hamish & Andy show, along with Brendan Jones and Amanda Keller (Jonesy & Amanda, WSFM), Kate Ritchie, Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold (Kate, Tim & Marty, Nova), Fifi Box and Dave Thornton (Fifi & Dave, Fox FM), and Chrissie Swan, Sam Pang and Jonathan Brown (Chrissie, Sam & Browny, Nova).
The Best On-Air Team title for Metro AM radio will be a contest between four-time winners Ross Stevenson and John Burns (Ross and John, 3AW Breakfast); Philip Brady and Bruce Mansfield, 3AW Nightline/ Remember When, 3AW), Michael Slater and Terry Kennedy (The Big Sports Breakfast, Sky Sports Radio), Steve Mills and Basil Zempilas (6PR Breakfast, 6PR), and Steve Price and Andrew Bolt (Nights with Steve Price, 2GB).
Neil Mitchell of 3AW is again a finalist for the Best Current Affairs Presenter, having won the category every year for the past four years. He’ll be up against Ben Fordham from 2GB, Tom Elliott from 3AW, Leon Byner from FIVEaa, and Chris Smith from 2GB.
Mitchell is also competing for the Best Talk Presenter award against Smith, Fordham, Steve Price, Ben Fordham and FIVEaa’s Jeremy Cordeaux.
This year’s metro finalists for Best Newcomer On-Air include Olympic Gold medallist Susie O’Neill (Nova); Sarah Faour (Triple M) Sam Pang (Nova), Julian King (2GB) and former Home and Away actor Jason “Finn” Smith (Nova).
Organised by Commercial Radio Australia, the national awards cover 33 categories, with entries received from 260 metropolitan and regional radio stations across Australia.
The winners will be announced at a gala black-tie event following the National Radio Conference at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday 8 October.
Commercial Radio Australia CEO Joan Warner said the event is a night for everyone to come together to celebrate the best in the industry.
“Congratulations to all the finalists on the recognition of their work,” he said.
“Live radio is one of the most demanding mediums to work in and takes high-level commitment to creating programs that are compelling, revealing and entertaining, day in, day out.”
Check out the full list of finalists here.
