Paul Holmes Signs For Another Five Years

Friday, March 16th, 2007 (Under embargo until 8:30am)

MEDIA RELEASE

Paul Holmes Signs For Another Five Years

Newstalk ZB has chosen today, its 20th anniversary, to outline its plans to ensure another 20 years of dominance in the all important breakfast slot, the domain of Paul Holmes since he went to air on the station two decades ago.

The succession plan will culminate on 31st December 2008 when Paul Holmes will hand the breakfast reigns to long standing, highly regarded Newstalk ZB broadcaster and Paul Holmes deputy Mike Hosking. Paul will scale down his involvement by focusing on a new show scheduled to air on Saturday mornings, 9:00am to 12:00noon and will remain with the station right through until 2011.

John McElhinney, The Radio Network's Chief Executive Officer, paid tribute to the integral part Paul Holmes has played in Newstalk ZB's success and the strength of the broadcasting line-up it has developed.

"This announcement is about celebrating our past and, more importantly, our future. We're delighted that Paul has agreed to sign on with us for another five years with two of those continuing to anchor the network's breakfast show. Mike will clearly play a more substantive role whilst Paul will continue to remain an integral part of our line-up. Since he joined us he has dominated the airwaves, achieved record ratings and beaten off every conceivable competitive challenge during his tenure at the top," he says.

Bill Francis, General Manager for Talk at The Radio Network, says: "We're fortunate in that we have so many great talents under the one roof, particularly a consummate broadcaster like Mike Hosking who has a wit, intellect and sense of fun that makes him the perfect successor to Paul."

"Mike has presided over Paul's show whilst he's been away so it's a natural progression which we foresaw taking place when we signed him several years ago. Paul signalled his interest to scale back on the arduous 4:00am starts which are a necessary part of breakfast radio and we've been in dialogue ever since then about what that could mean for both him and the station," says John McElhinney.

"As a company we have always taken succession planning seriously as we know how important orderly change is to our 420,000 loyal listeners throughout the country. Mike's developed a strong fan base in his current number one rating Saturday morning slot and so his new involvement signals the beginning of a new and exciting era for the station," he concludes.

ENDS

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