NOVA Entertainment today announced brand new line-ups for their Sydney Breakfast and national Drive shows on the Nova FM Network, launching Monday, February 9.
Nova 96.9’s new Sydney breakfast show will be Ricki-Lee & Tim, hosted by chart-topping recording artist and television presenter Ricki-Lee and award-winning radio broadcaster, Tim Blackwell.
A consistent number one show in their current Drive timeslot, Ricki-Lee and Tim are set to build on the incredible legacy of Nova FM Sydney breakfast shows, delivering a live show from Sydney, for Sydney, every weekday from 6am to 9am.
An exciting new Nova Network project for hugely talented Drive co-host and comedian Joel Creasey will also be revealed on-air today on the Ricki-Lee, Tim & Joel Drive show.
Also launching on February 9 is Nova’s new national Drive show, Fitzy, Wippa & Kate. Hosted by three of Australia’s most loved personalities, Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald, Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli and Kate Ritchie, the show will be broadcast live from 4pm to 6pm every weekday across Australia.
Following on from record audience results in 2025 for their current Sydney Breakfast show, all three presenters have hosted Nova’s national Drive show during their extensive careers, captivating audiences Australia-wide.
Following the Drive show each weekday, Ricki-Lee & Tim will also be on-air from 6pm for an hour-long national show, underscoring Nova’s commitment to delivering premium content across the entire day.
On her new role on Nova 96.9’s Sydney Breakfast show, Ricki-Lee said, “I’ve had so much fun working with Tim and Joel over the past few years and I am constantly blown away by how much people love our show all around the country. Stepping into Sydney Breakfast is a huge honour, and I can’t wait to wake up with Sydney and start every day making the people of this beautiful city smile – and to do it alongside one of my best friends makes it even sweeter. Tim and I are so ready for this. I can’t wait!”
Tim Blackwell added, “It’s been a dream of mine to host Sydney Breakfast my entire career. The fact I get to create a new show, in Sydney, for Sydney, with my best mate and wake up with the greatest city in the world every morning is a privilege that I don’t take for granted.”
Nova Network’s Group Programming Director, Brendan Taylor said, “Ricki-Lee, Tim & Joel have been a consistent number one show in their timeslot, and now is the right moment for a new sound for Sydney. Ricki-Lee and Tim are perfectly positioned to bring something exciting to Sydney Breakfast. They’re two of the best in the business and will continue to build on the incredible legacy of previous Nova Sydney breakfast line-ups, while delivering an exciting new show for Sydneysiders that’s live and local, every day.”
On the new Drive show, Taylor added, “Fitzy, Wippa and Kate are a powerhouse combination and their chemistry, humour and heart resonate deeply with audiences. They’ve delivered excellent results together and this move to Drive allows us to share their magic with all of Australia.”
On joining Nova 96.9’s new Drive show, Kate Ritchie said, “I’ve absolutely loved my time with the boys on Sydney Breakfast and I’m thrilled we now get to share our show with all of Australia. My morning alarm is ready and waiting to be set for packing school lunch and doing drop-off again with the beauty of entertaining our loyal listeners on their drive home. It’ll be an exciting evolution for all of us”
Added Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli, “Fourteen, fifteen, who knows how many years we’ve been doing breakfast? I was roughly aged twelve, Fitzy’s voice hadn’t even dropped when we started and Kate is still the rose between two very rough thorns, But the time has come to share the love with the rest of the country. So this odd throuple is packing up the family and moving to a national Drive show. Come with us, it will be fun.”
Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald said, “I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved with our audience in Sydney over the past 15 years, but equally excited to open up to our national family. It gives us an opportunity to travel around to see everyone and more importantly, claim all interstate trips as ‘work events’”.
NOVA Entertainment CEO, Peter Charlton said, “A key ingredient of NOVA’s success has been consistency, so we’ve made these changes with consideration and a long-term view. This evolution is all about continuing to give our incredible talent the perfect platforms to deliver great content, market-leading audiences and trusted environments for our advertising partners.”