Sky’s the limit: Matty Johns could return to breakfast radio next year

Sky Sports Radio is eyeing former Triple M star Matty Johns for a revamped Breakfast show.

The Sunday Telegraph reports that Fox Sports stars Johns, Yvonne Sampson and Gorden Tallis are favourites to headline the Big Sports Breakfast in 2020.

They would join Laurie Daley, but replace longtime host Terry Kennedy, after failing to gain any radio ratings traction in the competitive Sydney market.

As the Tele says, “They have struggled to get above one rating point for years.”

Johns is a proven performer on radio. During his stint fronting The Grill Team on Triple M Sydney brekkie, he helped drive substantial revenue for the network.

Tele columnist Phil Rothfield says Johns has had meetings with station management in recent weeks and points out the one “stumbling block” – all three are under contract at Fox Sports, a network “fiercely protective of their NRL brand”.

Johns reportedly asked for “another role in the business” when leaving Southern Cross Austereo a year ago, but a statement from Triple M revealed that the former NRL star would leave radio entirely.

After a near 12 month hiatus from radio, a return to 4am alarms for Johns could be good timing. The sports star just splashed out on a multi-million dollar property in Collaroy, on Sydney’s northern beaches.