Ben Fordham (Image: AAP/Dan Peled)

Alan Jones is gone, long live the new king of radio. Well, Sydney breakfast radio wannabee, Ben Fordham.

Fordham cracked the move from 2GB drive to 2GB breakfast to replace Jones, and it's paid off for Nine and its Macquarie radio subsidiary.

In a win for Nine, it replaced the abrasive and divisive Jones (and loser of valuable revenue and profits through advertiser boycotts in the last couple of years) with a smoother, less controversial host with a small loss of listeners and probably more contented advertisers.