Duncan Garner will be the host of MediaWorks' new 6-9am weekday news programme, the company has confirmed, as Paul Henry steps down from morning presenting in the new year.
Breakfast programme Paul Henry, which was launched in April 2015, will be replaced with The AM Show.
Henry will remain part of the MediaWorks family, returning to TV3 as a special guest on upcoming 7pm show The Project, in addition to other roles that will be announced later.
"I'm really proud of what we've done," says Henry, after his show's audience grew to match its television competitor.
"But it's time for me to enjoy a life without the nightmare of 2:30am alarms. I don't need to explain myself; you've seen how successful this broadcasting experiment has been.
"Too many people spend their lives waiting to live. I don't want to fall into that trap."
Garner's years of experience across talkback radio, the press gallery and current affairs make him the perfect host for The AM Show, says MediaWorks chief news officer Hal Crawford.
"Duncan will continue to deliver the fast-paced, informative and entertaining start to the morning that New Zealanders have grown to love with Paul Henry," says Crawford.
"He has immense reporting and presenting experience, and we are looking forward to him continuing the success of a format that has transformed the breakfast market."
The AM Show will retain some familiar attributes, but with a number of changes and additions. Other members of team, and a replacement host on RadioLIVE's Drive show, will be announced in the near future.
Paul Henry regularly outperforms the competition in the key commercial demographic of viewers aged 25-54 and on RadioLIVE the programme continuously grew to its current peak of 160,900 weekly listeners.
"We've done incredible things, turning an idea and an untested format into something New Zealanders have loved waking up to. The results speak for themselves and to the hard work of our amazing team," says Paul Henry executive producer Sarah Bristow.
"We are very sad to see Paul go, but thank him for his incredible work," says MediaWorks CEO Michael Anderson.
"It won't be the same without him but the show must go on. We have the best team in the business to do it and we're sure audiences will love The AM Show."
Paul Henry will finish at the end of 2016.
Newshub.
