Johannesburg-based radio station HOT 102.7FM has once again strengthened its line-up with the appointment of South African radio legend Darren Scott to host its afternoon drive show.
The Just Plain Drive Show sees a return to South African radio for Scott, who has been in the United States for the past 18 months.
Scott is a household name in South African radio and television, having been in the business for 40 years, including stints with the likes of Capital Radio, 5FM, 702, East Coast Radio, OFM, and Jacaranda FM. He also enjoyed a successful TV career, largely with MultiChoice’s SuperSport, where he fronted the hugely-popular ‘Boots & All’ rugby show for many years.
But, radio has always been his first love and since those first days on Capital Radio his track record speaks for itself – 14 SA Radio Awards, including over 30 nominations.
“We’re constantly looking at ways to take our on-air offering to the next level and Darren’s appointment is very much in line with that,” said Lloyd Madurai, Managing Director of HOT 102.7FM. “He’s an incredibly experienced and talented presenter, and a name that resonates deeply with our audience. I’m looking forward to seeing Darren take one of our flagship shows to the next level.”
The Just Plain Drive is on HOT 102.7FM Monday to Friday, 15h00 to 18h00, with Scott teaming up with experienced news presenter Tara Penny and sports guy Dylan Rogers to form a new drive show combination.
The show also launches with a new sponsor, in the form of Tsogo Sun’s Gold Reef City, and listeners can look forward to the popular ‘Crack the Code’ game on the show, brought to you by Gold Reef City.
According to Scott, they can also look forward to plenty of laughs, cheeky banter, loads of music trivia, “less blah blah”, some great ‘Old Skool’ music, and a couple of fun features, including the ‘4+1 Challenge’ and ‘Tara’s Breaking News Song’ – all geared towards taking the edge off a long workday and putting a smile on your face.
“Radio is in my blood and I realised just how much I missed it when I made the move to the States,” said Scott. “So, when the chance to join HOT 102.7FM came up, I jumped at it. I also love what Lloyd and his team have created at HOT and their approach to making great radio played a huge role in making this an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
Scott’s appointment is just the latest exciting news out of HOT 102.7FM, with the station recently honoured in three categories at the 2024 New York Festivals Radio Awards – widely regarded as the ‘Oscars of the radio industry’.
The station also recently launched four new online streams on the HOT 102.7FM website and app – HOT Rock, HOT Easy, HOT Funk, and HOT Club – and celebrated a significant growth in listenership, according to WhyFive’s annual BrandMapp survey, which put the station’s current audience in the region of 613 000.
