HIT Network teases huge hosting shake-up amid radio station’s ongoing ratings battle with Kyle and Jackie O’s KIIS FM

The Hit Network have announced some big changes to their on-air line-up as the winter viewership war with their rivals KIIS FM heats up.

The radio station confirmed that they will be making a number of hosting changes during the two-week winter break in an exciting shake-up.

Fan favorites Jimmy Smith and Nath Roye will switch to the drive time show and get behind the wheel during their show from 3pm to 6pm.

In the meantime, Lucy Jackson and Nikki Westcott will make their weekday radio debut by taking over the prized slot Monday to Friday from 7pm to 10pm.

The fan favorites previously appeared on their popular Saturday Nights show.

The Hit Network is revealing the changes as part of their coverage ahead of the Paris Olympics, which start on July 26.

Jimmy and Nath will be showcasing Aussie Olympians past and present, offering fans a taste of the Summer Games in their national slot from 3pm to 6pm.

The hosting duo said of the changes: ‘Well this is nice that they keep asking us to do this, I guess it means we haven’t screwed up yet!

“We are thrilled to bring our show to National Drive and gently warm the earlobes of winter listeners across the country from 3pm to 6pm.”

The Hit Network is also home to Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little’s hugely popular Drive show, and Kyle and Jackie O’s rival show Fifi, Fev and Nick.

The changes come as Kyle and Jackie O (pictured) attempt to gain an edge over Hit Network’s top rival, the Fifi, Fev and Nick Show on Fox FM in Melbourne.

The Hit Network continues to battle archFM rival KIIS, home of Kyle and Jackie O’s breakfast show, which expanded into the Melbourne market in April.

Fans were shocked when the Sydney-based ratings titans lost to their Melbourne rivals Fifi, Fev and Nick.

The trio’s show recorded their 12th consecutive win as Melbourne’s most listened to breakfast show in the latest radio survey released in June.

But in Sydney, Kyle and Jackie O triumphed and came out on top having previously won the Sydney Breakfast FM radio wars for 40 surveys in a row.

Meanwhile, Lucy Jackson and Nikki Westcott will make their weekday radio debut by taking over the prized slot from 7pm to 10pm Monday to Friday, after previously appearing on Saturday evenings.

The show saw a slight decline in listenership this time around, dropping 1.4 points to a 14.7 percent market share.

On April 29, Kyle and Jackie O took their breakfast radio to Melbourne in a massive multi-million dollar expansion deal.

The move left Jason ‘Jase’ Hawkins and Lauren Phillips’ breakfast show in the lurch.

An unapologetic Kyle recently said he felt indifferent when his competitors were suspended because it ultimately came down to who attracted the most listeners.

The Hit Network is also home to Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little’s hugely popular Drive show, and Kyle and Jackie O’s rival show Fifi, Fev and Nick (pictured)

‘No, I don’t care. That’s why we went to Melbourne, we were like, ‘We’ve given this Jase and Lauren on KIIS FM a good run, it can’t get past fourth in the radio ratings, so we’ll take it,'” he told the News. com.au.

He added that The Kyle and Jackie O Show had been moved to Melbourne because there was a “market in trouble” and it was thought their program could help win back listeners.

However, Kyle’s co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson took a different approach, adding that while she didn’t like competitors being cut, this was unfortunately the reality of the business.

“No one ever wants to take someone out of their job. I wouldn’t want that to happen to me. It’s a double-edged sword, it really is,” she said.