2Day FM


2Day FM is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on a frequency of 104.1 MHz, and is part of Southern Cross Austereo's Hit Network.

History

1980s

2Day FM was one of three radio stations to be granted new FM broadcasting licenses in Sydney in 1980, and commenced broadcasting on 2 August of that year. The original owners were well known media personalities John Laws, Mike Willesee, Village Roadshow and Graham Kennedy. The station's original programming format was focused towards easy-listening music, but shifted to more pop and rock oriented programming since the late 1980s, with the later addition of Hip-Hop and dance music to their playlists.
Originally the studios were located on the second floor of the Sovereign Inn at 220 Pacific Highway, Crows Nest. The station was sold to the Lamb Family in February 1987, who sold it again to radio group Austereo in May 1989.

1990s

In 1995, the station's owner Austereo bought out the Triple M network from Hoyts, and following the merger of the two companies in 1996 2Day FM moved its studios and administration to Level 24, Tower 1, Westfield Bondi Junction at 520 Oxford Street, just one floor below the original home of Triple M since 1980. Austereo also took over Level 26 of the same building for its corporate departments. With the move to new premises, 2Day FM also adopted digital audio playout, incorporating the DCS audio system built by Computer Concepts, sold and supported in Australia by Techtel.
During the 1990s, 2Day FM enjoyed ratings success, especially with its breakfast program The Morning Crew, which consistently topped its segment in the Sydney radio market for years.
From 1995 to 1998, 2Day FM broadcast the highly successful Martin/Molloy drive program with Tony Martin and Mick Molloy. This program was networked to over 50 stations around Australia, and is considered one of Australia's most successful FM radio shows. Martin and Molloy left the Today Network in late 1998 at the top of the ratings, citing the need for a break from the pressures of radio.
Nights on 2Day FM have also been controversial. In 1997, night announcer David Rymer, host of the then Top 30 Countdown, was castigated in the media for a poorly thought-out on air stunt in which he called a top ranking Year 12 student, pretending to be from the Board of Studies. He told the girl her results were incorrect and that her marks had been adjusted. He played the segment to air after receiving verbal permission to do so from the girl's mother. However, her father was a lawyer and took legal action. The media responded and Rymer was suspended until further notice. He returned to the show a month later but was soon moved to day shifts on sister station Triple M to make way for the new networked night show Ugly Phil's Hot 30, hosted by Phil O'Neil and his then wife Jackie O. The new show was not without its controversy either, with complaints about obscenity and foul language. O'Neil resigned in 2000 and the show disintegrated, followed by their divorce in 2001. O'Neil moved to the UK to present breakfast on Kerrang! 105.2 and was replaced by the Brisbane-based Kyle Sandilands, while Jackie O remained as co-host.

2000s

Peter Moon left the breakfast show in 2002 after infighting with Harmer became unbearable for him. He was replaced by yet another Melbourne comedian, Greg Fleet, who was poorly received by the Sydney radio listeners.
When Harmer resigned in 2003, the station replaced her with Melbourne comedian Judith Lucy. Lucy was given free rein over the new show and installed two friends, Peter Helliar and Kaz Cooke, to co-host. The show was not a success in the ratings and the station received some of the worst breakfast ratings in its history.
2Day FM continued to broadcast from Bondi Junction until October 2005, when both 2Day FM and Triple M moved into new premises at World Square, Goulburn Street, Sydney. The new premises included state of the art Klotz Digital equipment, and a street level studio. 2Day FM started 2005 with a number of changes, the most significant of which was moving the drive show team of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O to breakfast and employing a young and unknown Craig Lowe as the host of the nightly networked show Lowie's Hot30. This was short-lived, however, after yet another on air gaffe later in the year that involved a porn star relating sexually charged experiences live to air which resulted in a breach of codes finding. Lowie was forced to resign as host of the Hot30 in November 2006. Tim Lee and co-host Carla Bignasca were announced as his replacements in February 2007.

2010s

Departure of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O

In November 2013, breakfast team of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O announced their departure from the station and the network. Whilst they were present at 2Day FM, the station held the number 1 FM breakfast show for 52 radio surveys in a row, and kept the station as the number 1 FM station in Sydney. Hours after the duo finished their final show at 2Day FM, rival Australian Radio Network announced the pair would be moving to a new look Mix 106.5. On 8 December, ARN announced the station would rebrand as KIIS 106.5, with Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O on breakfast.
Since the departure of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson in 2013, the station has plummeted from being the top rating commercial FM station to the bottom with an audience share of just 4 per cent – having been as low as 2.8 per cent. The replacement breakfast shows have never managed to improve ratings. The Kyle & Jackie O show on KIIS 106.5 has surged on, often competing with WSFM Jonesy and Amanda for the number 1 FM breakfast show.
In August 2014, Mel B left the then breakfast team coming to the end of her six-month contract.
In November 2014, a 30-second ad on 2Day FM in breakfast cost $850 and in drive cost $700.

Rebuilding Phase: Post ''Kyle and Jackie O''

In January 2015, Dan and Maz took over the coveted breakfast slot. They were initially brought on board to connect with a younger audience, however struggled to make inroads against established competitors including Kyle and Jackie O on KIIS, WSFM's Jonesy & Amanda, Triple M's "The Grill Team" and Nova's Fitzy & Wippa. After struggling for the most part of the year, it was announced in October 2015, that Rove McManus would front a brand new Breakfast Show titled Rove and Sam on a three-year deal. On 9 November 2015, Rove and Sam first aired with co-host Sam Frost.
Later in 2015, Mike Christian returned to 2Day FM in a reduced position, mostly covering special events.
In July 2015, SCA managed to lure back popular comedians Hamish & Andy to the national drive slot with their syndicated radio show. The duo continued their strong run in drive since returning to 2Day FM station, with 6.8% audience share in their second survey period. The duo saw an increase of 0.3 percentage points over the period, placing them in the middle of the pack alongside WSFM and Triple M, which were also on a 6.8% audience share. They ultimately decided against renewing their contract at the end of 2017, opting instead to host a podcast version of the show from 2018 onwards.
With Rove and Sam's arrival into the 2Day FM breakfast market, Dan and Maz would return in 2016 to host a new weekend Breakfast show across the country for the network.
In January 2017, Rove and Sam moved from the breakfast show to a national nightly program on the Hit Network due to poor ratings. Em Rusciano and Harley Breen replaced Rove and Sam from 23 January 2017.
In November 2017, Southern Cross Austereo announced that Harley Breen would leave the station to focus on his stand up career. Breen would be replaced by Ed Kavalee.
In December 2017, Southern Cross Austereo announced that Grant Denyer would join Em Rusciano and Ed Kavalee. The show would be titled Em, Grant & Ed and commenced on 15 January 2018. In September 2018, Rusciano announced that she would be leaving the show to focus on her stand up career and upcoming birth of her third child. Ash London initially replaced her until it was announced in December 2018 that she will join the show permanently from January 2019.
In August 2019, Southern Cross Austereo announced that Em, Grant & Ed would finish on Friday 16 August due to taking a 'new direction'. Em, Grant & Ed had an audience share of 3.1% in the fourth survey period. The show will be replaced by a music focused show, Music for Breakfast hosted by Jamie Angel. Angel's new show will commence from Monday 19 August. Kavalee, Denyer and London will remain with Southern Cross Austereo in other capacities.

2020s

In July 2020, Southern Cross Austereo unveiled a number of major changes to the Hit Network in metro and regional markets. It was the biggest network overhaul since the Hit brand was first introduced in 2014 and marked the beginning of a major play by SCA to reclaim their duopoly leadership position in key markets. This included a change in branding and logo once again for 2Day FM.
In November 2020, Southern Cross Austereo announced that Dave Hughes, Ed Kavalee and Erin Molan would replace Jamie Angel to host Hughesy, Ed & Erin from Monday, 18 January 2021. A highlights package of the show, Hughesy, Ed & Erin's ''Happy Hour aired weeknights from 6 pm to 7 pm.
In August 2024, Southern Cross Austereo announced that Hughesy, Ed & Erin had been axed with the station to take a new direction. The last show aired on Wednesday 7 August. Jimmy & Nath will host breakfast for the remainder of the year. In December 2024, Southern Cross Austereo confirmed that Jimmy & Nath will continue to host breakfast in 2025.
In January 2025, Emma Chow from Mike E & Emma was announced as a new addition to the Jimmy & Nath breakfast team, creating The Jimmy & Nath Show with Emma. On March 13 2025, 2Day FM underwent its biggest overhaul in years, launching a new sound and promise: The hits, before they hit. 2Day FM will play more new music than any other commercial radio station in Sydney, alongside a commitment to support and showcase more Australian artists. In November 2025, Jimmy Smith stepped away from The Jimmy & Nath Show with Emma to focus on his health. In December 2025, it was confirmed that Nath & Emma'' will continue to host breakfast in 2026.