Radio host Anton Savage was reportedly told he had hosted his last show just minutes after coming off air yesterday afternoon.
The seasoned broadcaster shocked fans yesterday when he released a statement announcing that he will no longer be presenting The Anton Savage Show due to a situation with Today FM bosses that resulted in them having to part ways.
The statement read:
“22 months ago, I set out working with a brilliant bunch of people to create a magazine show we could be proud of between 9 and 12 on Today FM. We were told the objective was to create a great show and retain 65% or more of the previous audience.
“The task of doing that was brilliant. Fun, challenging collegiate. The team on the Anton Savage Show could not have worked harder or been more creative or dedicated, and it was through their hard work that we were awarded our PPI Award for Magazine Show of the Year, and covered topics and guests ranging from Hollywood stars to human interest, from news and views to daft stunts.
“Over the last year it became clear that my objectives for the show and the new management’s objectives for the show diverged greatly. We disagreed on a move to set music quotas, we disagreed on significant changes to the playlist, we disagreed on topics for discussion, on format, on choice of contributors and we disagreed on the choice of certain guests.
“It led to a situation where we have parted ways.”
According to The Irish Sun, Anton had been called into a meeting with Today FM boss Keith McCormack directly after he came off air and was told he had hosted his last show.
However, a station insider revealed that it wouldn’t have been a shock to Anton, as the writing was on the wall for some time.
“It couldn’t have been a surprise for Anton as there had been no negotiations to renew. The writing was on the wall.” they told the Irish Sun.
Anton’s dedicated listener’s took to Twitter to share their disdain over Today FM’s bold move:
We here at VIP will really miss Anton on our airwaves, but we’ve no doubt he’ll be snapped up by another station very quickly!