Veteran radio presenter Christian O'Connell has suffered a brutal ratings blow, just three months.
After a major shake-up last year, the British radio star's top-rating Gold FM breakfast show was networked into for the start of 2026.
This move pushed veteran hosts Amanda Keller and Brendan 'Jonesy' Jones, who
But while Jonesy and Amanda adjusted, Sydney listeners have been less forgiving.
In the first ratings round of the year (Jan 18–Feb 28),
The Christian O'Connell Show now ranks fourth on the FM dial behind the recently axed Kyle and Jackie O Show (12.7), Smooth FM (10.1) and Nova's Ricki-Lee and Tim (8.4).
Veteran radio presenter Christian O'Connell has suffered a brutal ratings blow, just three months after his Gold FM breakfast show debuted in Sydney
Industry insiders had expected some audience loss after the breakfast shake-up, but few predicted such a severe hit.
Although
Christian's troubles extend to Melbourne, where his long-held number one FM spot has also been dethroned.
His audience share dropped 0.4 points to 10.6 per cent, allowing Nova's Jase and Lauren to surge past him to 11.1 per cent.
However, the English-born presenter has a proven track record of winning over sceptical listeners.
When he arrived in Australia in 2018, he was unknown in Melbourne, yet within 18 months his show claimed the top spot.
With Sydney's breakfast audience now in flux and Gold FM taking a gamble on a networked show, the question is whether Christian can rebuild momentum.
For almost 12 years, Christian was the breakfast host on Absolute Radio in the UK, winning awards and entertaining millions of listeners.
The Christian O'Connell Show now ranks fourth on the FM dial behind the recently axed Kyle and Jackie O Show (12.7), Smooth FM (10.1) and Nova's Ricki-Lee and Tim (8.4)
He stunned those listeners when in 2018, at the peak of his presenting powers, he upped sticks with his wife Sarah and their children and moved to Australia.
