Nova has confirmed a major national realignment of its on-air lineup. Beginning on Monday February 9, Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie will move out of Sydney Breakfast and into national Drive. Under the new structure, the Ricki-Lee Coulter and Tim Blackwell show will take over Breakfast, replacing the current Fitzy & Wippa and Kate Ritchie team.

NOVA has announced that it will launch The Joel Creasey Show across the Nova Network, marking his first solo national program. The new show is scheduled to debut in April, broadcasting live on weekdays during the lunchtime period.

Media Week reports: The changes represent one of Nova’s most significant programming moves in years, resetting its two most commercially important dayparts – Breakfast and Drive – across the network. The shift would see Ricki-Lee and Tim front the Breakfast program without Joel, while Fitzy, Wippa and Kate would become Nova’s key Drive offering nationally.

Sources suggest that cost-cutting is behind the current plan, which is being considered as a network-wide national realignment, rather than a Sydney-only adjustment, with Nova reviewing how its biggest brands are deployed across key markets.

Nova Entertainment CEO, Peter Charlton, said: “A key ingredient of Nova’s success has been consistency, so we’ve made these changes with consideration and a long-term view. This evolution is all about continuing to give our incredible talent the perfect platforms to deliver great content, market-leading audiences and trusted environments for our advertising partners.”