Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie

Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie
GenreComedy
Running time180 minutes
Country of originAustralia
Language(s)English
Home stationNova 96.9 Sydney
Hosted byRyan Fitzgerald
Michael Wipfli
Kate Ritchie
Recording studioPyrmont, New South Wales
Original release17 January 2011
Audio formatStereo
WebsiteFitzy & Wippa
PodcastiTunes

Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie is an Australian breakfast radio show on Nova 96.9 in Sydney, Australia. It is hosted by comedians Ryan "Fitzy" Fitzgerald, Michael "Wippa" Wipfli and Kate Ritchie. The show airs in Sydney from 6 am to 9 am on weekday mornings with music and daily topic discussions and special guests.[1]

It was previously syndicated nationally from 6-7pm weeknights, however they were axed from their slot at the start of 2024, and were replaced by Ben, Liam & Belle.

A daily podcast featuring the best bits from each show is available on the Nova Player as is the podcast for all other Nova FM shows in Australia.

News, sport, weather and traffic updates are presented by Ash Gardner.

The show also features rap battles with celebrities.[2]

History

The show commenced broadcasting on 17 January 2011,[3] replacing Ryan, Monty and Wippa on the drive shift. Ryan Shelton left Nova to focus on his television career and Katie "Monty" Dimond moved to Sydney to join Merrick Watts and Scott Dooley at Nova 96.9 on the breakfast show.

In August 2011, it was announced that Fitzy & Wippa would move to Nova 96.9 breakfast and replacing Merrick Watts and Scott Dooley. Meshel, Tim and Marty (now Kate, Tim and Marty) took over the national drive show.[4]

Aside from the Nova Network the show is also syndicated to 38 other FM stations including Ace Radio and Grant Broadcasters FM Network of stations along with Red FM, Eagle FM and Snow FM.[5] The time of day that Fitzy & Wippa is broadcast is different for each of these stations and they will shorten it to 1 hour or 2-hour long episodes featuring the best bits only.[6][7]

In January 2018, Sarah McGilvray joined the show after previously making regular appearances in her role as Nova 96.9 program director. In October 2019, Executive Producer Tom Ivey, who also makes on-air contributions as part of the broader team was officially recognised in promotions. [8]

Kate Ritchie joined the show as a co-host in 2023

In March 2023, it was reported that McGilvray had been dropped from the show.[9] After weeks of speculation, Nova announced that Kate Ritchie will join the show permanently from 14 March 2023.[10][11]

In February 2024, it was announced that Nova 100 Melbourne's breakfast show hosts Ben, Liam & Belle would move to a national timeslot, from 6-8pm weeknights, subsequently kicking Fitzy, Wippa and Kate out of their national slot.[12][13]

Television special

On 27 November 2015, Fitzy and Wippa hosted a one-off special Up Reasonably Late with Fitzy & Wippa on Network Ten.[14] It was watched by 114,000 viewers.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie". Spotify. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Fitzy & Wippa's Rap Battles - YouTube". YouTube.
  3. ^ "'Fitzy' and 'Wippa' to drive FM radio war". Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  4. ^ "Fitzy & Wippa to Nova Sydney breakfast; Meshel, Tim & Marty to national drivetime". 26 August 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  5. ^ "48 regional stations to broadcast Kate, Tim & Marty in 2018". Radio Today. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  6. ^ "106.3 / 95.9 MIXX FM - Shows".
  7. ^ "All Stations | Hit Network".
  8. ^ "Nova launches new marketing campaign". 25 October 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  9. ^ "'Screwed': Kate Richie's new role causes radio uproar". PerthNow. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Kate Ritchie and Nova's big radio shake up foiled by rogue outdoor ad". Mumbrella. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  11. ^ Patterson, Sarah (9 March 2023). "Kate Ritchie officially joins Fitzy & Wippa on Nova Sydney Breakfast". Radio Today. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  12. ^ McNamara, Lauren (8 February 2024). "Jase and Lauren announce new home after KIIS dumping". Mumbrella. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  13. ^ Mediaweek (8 February 2024). "Jase & Lauren jump ship to Nova, taking Ben, Liam & Belle's brekkie slot". Mediaweek. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  14. ^ Knox, David (27 November 2015). "Airdate: Up Reasonably Late with Fitzy & Wippa". TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  15. ^ Knox, David (28 November 2015). "Friday 27 November 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 November 2015.