The uber-popular Ace and TJ radio show has undergone a sudden rebranding, as the longtime radio presenters seemingly went through a divorce.
The pair of radio DJs, based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, have worked together for more than 20 years, becoming one of the most prominent syndicated morning shows in the Southern United States. Together, the award-nominated duo have been through a lot of ups and downs.
This includes severing their partnership with radio conglomerate IHeartMedia in 2021, launching their own online show for listeners, and jumping back on the air proper thanks to a new partnership with Beasley Broadcast Group-WKQC in May 2024.
Why Have Ace and TJ Divorced?
On Friday, September 20, it was announced that longtime radio presenters David "Ace" Cannon and Ritchie "TJ" Beams (of The Ace and TJ Show) would be splitting up, the show would undergo rebranding, and a new host would be brought in.
This came as it was revealed that Andy was suddenly leaving the syndicated morning radio program with no proper reasoning being given for the divorce.
An official announcement on the change came by way of The Ace and TJ Show Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) page, writing that fans can expect "much of the same content" going forward, but "Ace is no longer associated with the show:"
"The new 'TJ & Riggins Show' begins Monday, September 23. Expect much of the same content and products with some new additions to be announced soon. Ace is no longer associated with the show."
The new show will see Ritchie "TJ" Beams team up with a former collaborator of both him and Ace, Bryan "Riggins" Weber, and will officially be called The TJ & Riggins Show.
Weber originally joined Ace and TJ back in 2009 as an intern before becoming a more permanent fixture in their programming ventures including serving as Vice President of Programming for The Ace & TJ Network since 2016.
David "Ace" Cannon has not commented on the split, and his social media channels (including Instagram) have remained silent since the news broke.
The show's previous site has officially been rebranded and the URL changed, now being found at tjriggins.com.
Radio, on the whole, is a volatile industry, and personalities can constantly be on a merry-go-round of coming and going. This usually has to do with corporate interests making changes to any given station (or stations) depending on how well it is performing financially and in the ongoing Neilsen Audio ratings.
Ace and TJ have typically thrived in the ratings, averaging a strong 4.7 share (percentage of the listening audience) since their debut on Charlotte-based WKQC, and sitting as the most popular Adult-Contemporary station in the city (via Radio Online).
Typically if a change to a show like this is going to be made, the entire panel of personalities will be let, and then a rebrand will happen from there.
This feels different from that, especially seeing as the Cannon, Beams, and Weber own the rights to their show themselves.
That means something likely happened internally at The Ace & TJ Network or Cannon is dealing with something personally and needs to take a sudden step back from his time on the radio.
Because of the nature of this split, fans may never know the exact specifics of why Ace and TJ decided to call it quits.
The TJ & Riggins Show is set to debut on Monday, September 23.
