Broadcasting heavyweights Mike Hosking and Paul Henry will go head-to-head at breakfast time after a major media reshuffle.
Henry will host a breakfast show to be broadcast next year simultaneously on TV3 and RadioLive -- both owned by MediaWorks.
The move spells the end of the The Paul Henry Show, placing its controversial host in direct competition with Hosking, host of Newstalk ZB's popular breakfast show.
The new programme, which MediaWorks called the country's "first cross-platform show", will replace both Firstline on TV3 and the breakfast show on RadioLive.
MediaWorks spokeswoman Rachel Lorimer said it was too early to know what would happen to staff affected by the changes -- including RadioLive breakfast hosts Marcus Lush and Hilary Barry.
The changes would also affect Firstline presenters Sacha McNeil and Michael Wilson and Paul Henry Show co-host Janika ter Ellen.
Media commentator Brian Edwards said he guessed MediaWorks was capitalising on Henry's late-night television success by putting him in a higher-rating morning slot.
But Dr Edwards did not expect Henry to pip Newstalk ZB's Hosking at the post.
"ZB is watertight in that slot. That is the highest-rating slot in radio in New Zealand and I don't think Paul Henry will be able to make any dents in it," he said.
He thought Henry suited late-night television but it was a bit risky putting him back on morning TV.
"He's deliberately outrageous and that works well late in the evening, but he's dangerous, and dangerous in the morning is a little bit more risky."
When working on TVNZ's Breakfast in 2010, Henry repeatedly mocked the name of Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and got into hot water when he questioned whether Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand "was even a New Zealander". He resigned later that year.
The breakfast show will be part of TV3's new season, most likely from late January or February, and is the first big change since Mark Weldon became MediaWorks chief executive.
"The new show will integrate our capabilities in radio, TV and digital, creating a unique product with a unique audience proposition," Mr Weldon said.
"No other media company can offer this type of seamless experience, organised around the audience rather than the platform."
The managing director of NZME. radio, Dean Buchanan, said it was a dynamic time within the media. NZME. owns Newstalk ZB and publishes the Herald.
"The integration of NZME. publishing and radio combined with our collaboration with TVNZ means Mike Hosking and consequently Newstalk ZB and the New Zealand Herald are 'the' multi-medium news brands, so we're not surprised at the move."
By Susan Strongman and Russell Baillie of the New Zealand Herald
