Why is David ‘Kochie’ Koch Leaving Sunrise?
David ‘Kochie’ Koch announced that he will be leaving Sunrise of Seven Network after hosting the show for 21 years. His announcement comes months after he celebrated his 20th anniversary on the show.
Kochie, as he is popularly known, joined Seven Network in 2002 as a finance reporter. He was then made a temporary presenter for Sunrise after its host Chris Reason was diagnosed with cancer.
He was made a permanent presenter for Sunrise in October 2002 and that marked his journey at the breakfast show. The show began to pick up ratings after it was revamped a number of times to focus more on being a family-friendly show rather than hardcore news.
Kochie has hosted the show with Melissa Doyle, Samantha Armytage, and Natalie Barr over the years.
Who will be Replacing David Koch on Sunrise?
Seven Network has not yet named a replacement for Kochie. It is rumored that former Australian Olympic sprinter Matt Shirvington and Matt Doran who co-hosts Weekend Sunrise are among those considered to replace Koch. His replacement will be announced on Monday, June 5 as his last show will be on June 9 Friday.
What’s Next For Kochie?
Apart from being a renowned journalist, David Koch is a businessman and owner of several businesses with his wife. He said he will now be concentrating on his family and his other businesses.
Before joining BRW magazine soon after it launched in the early 1980s, he received his training as an accountant and began as a cadet on the business pages of The Australian newspaper. He helped establish consumer finance journalism in Australia and was the Fairfax Media group’s youngest editor when he founded Personal Investment magazine.
Then he began publishing Personal Investment periodicals in the UK and New Zealand. He created the first “rich list” in Britain, which was published in Money Magazine, a publication he had acquired for Fairfax. In a partnership with Fairfax, he established the trade publishing company Australian Financial Press in 1988. Business Magazine, New Accountant, and Money Management periodicals were later produced by AFP.
Koch served as a director of the NSW Small Business Development Corporation Ltd for eight years following its establishment in 1996. He speaks regularly at corporate events about small company, finance, and investment issues as a former business owner and operator and is currently director of Pinstripe Media Pty Ltd.
Koch founded Pinstripe Media in 2007, a video production and content marketing organization that oversees a network of websites such as Startup Daily, Flying Solo, and Kochie’s Business Builders.
His media company Pinstripe Media produced the weekly program Business Builders. The show which aires on Seven Network aims to help private business owners improve their business.
Koch established KBB Digital, a digital marketing firm for small businesses that is an offshoot of the ‘Kochie’s Business Builders’ brand, in 2013. He, in collaboration with Kylie Merritt, created Ausbiz, an Australian business and finance streaming platform, in 2020.