Drive time radio is set to become more competitive than merging peak hour traffic today.
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From this afternoon Nova's new drive show Meshel, Tim and Marty will go up against Southern Cross Austero's rating juggernauts Hamish and Andy, Fifi and Jules and MIX 94.5's locally presented The Big Couch.
![Since the Fitzy and Wippa show commenced in January, ratings have encroached on the number one spot. Since the Fitzy and Wippa show commenced in January, ratings have encroached on the number one spot.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/447f4841-5328-4105-b396-0b295b6bff9e.jpg/r0_0_729_576_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Tim Blackwell, along with Meshel Laurie and Marty Shergold are the latest recruits in Nova's nationwide push for the highly coveted drive time ratings.
While former show hosts Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald and Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli will continue Merrick Watts' 'laughs with the lads' Sydney breakfast show following his resignation last month.
However Nova bosses knew they were onto something good and have ensured national audiences will still hear the boys for an hour every night with a "best of" show.
Since the Fitzy and Wippa show commenced in January, ratings have encroached on the number one spot.
Achievements including their world record attempt involving a catapult and Federal MP Bob Katter and commentating the Royal wedding, have also impressed audiences.
"Since starting out six years ago it's been the most enjoyable year in radio that I've ever had," Fitzgerald told WAtoday.com.au.
He said their antics will translate into their new show.
"We'll just replicate the show into a breakky show format while the other guys get to enjoy their sleep-ins, the bastards," he joked.
"We're still going to nominate for the Olympics, we don't know which sport but that's what we're working on now."
New drive host Blackwell has no plans to follow their boisterous lead.
"They are a lot more adventurous than us, we won't be building any catapults or anything," he said.
Audiences may remember Blackwell who along with Anthony Kiedis and his band mates, was the first voice ever heard on Nova 937 when the station launched in 2001.
"It was one thing to be the first voice on air at a brand new station but to do it with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers sitting with you was something else," he said.
Meshel, Tim and Marty will begin broadcasting from 4pm today, before Fitzy and Wippa take over from 6pm.
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