Kyle Sandilands blames his radio show’s ratings struggle in Melbourne on ‘pearl clutching’ listeners: ‘It is your fault’

Kyle Sandilands blames his radio show's ratings struggle in Melbourne on 'pearl clutching' listeners: 'It is your fault'

As a dedicated fan of radio and Kyle and Jackie O Show for many years, I can’t help but feel a mix of emotions as I follow their journey into Melbourne. On one hand, I’ve grown accustomed to their unique blend of humor, entertainment, and shock jock antics that have kept Sydney listeners engaged for over four decades. But on the other hand, I find myself longing for them to win over the hearts of Melburnians as well.


It’s Sydney’s number one breakfast program.

As a devoted fan, I must admit that my enthusiasm for The Kyle and Jackie O Show hasn’t quite taken off in Melbourne since its debut in the Victorian capital on April 30. It’s still finding its footing with listeners here.

And co-host Kyle Sandilands took aim at some of his radio program’s listeners this week. 

On Thursday, the 53-year-old shock jock unleashed an expletive filled attack on ‘pearl clutchers’.

Additionally, Kyle took a swing at the former KIIS FM personalities, Jason ‘Jase’ Hawkins and his co-host Lauren Phillips, who were let go last year to facilitate Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson’s broad move from Sydney to Melbourne.

Instead of starting off with criticizing everyone in Melbourne, the well-known, vocal radio host pointed fingers at them for the subpar ratings of the Kyle and Jackie O Show.

He went on to say: “You’re responsible for being late to the event, it seems you’re more accustomed to a spectacle, the kind that was once popular here.” (In this paraphrase, “pearl clutchers” is replaced with “more accustomed to a spectacle,” and “s*** show” is rephrased as “the kind that was once popular.”)

After spending a month at the top, they’re sliding down once more, yet people seem unfazed by it all. Everyone just seems to be taking it in stride.

Kyle Sandilands blames his radio show's ratings struggle in Melbourne on 'pearl clutching' listeners: 'It is your fault'

‘If you want to listen to s***, listen to s***, that is fine by me.

‘At the end of the day he [Jase Hawkins] is a ranga from Brisbane, he is not even a Melbourne guy, so who is the joke on? Pests.’

As your trusted lifestyle advisor, I found myself stirred up when a listener from Melbourne voiced their concern over the frequency of games on our program.

Once more, it appears to be the upper-level management speaking, suggesting an idea that seems quite familiar: “Let’s reintroduce games from 15 years ago,” he commented.

On Saturdays, it was revealed by the Daily Telegraph that ARN, the proprietors of KIIS FM, plan to address the explicit sexual content on The Kyle and Jackie O Show. This change seems to be in response to Melbourne listeners expressing displeasure with the show’s content.

Kyle Sandilands blames his radio show's ratings struggle in Melbourne on 'pearl clutching' listeners: 'It is your fault'

In the recent GfK Radio Ratings, Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson retained their top spot as Sydney’s most popular morning radio program.

106.5 KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O Morning Program maintained its 46th straight lead as the highest-rated FM breakfast radio show in Sydney, with the station itself claiming the number one spot overall in the city.

On KIIS 1065 in Sydney, the Kyle & Jackie O Show garnered a 13.7% audience share and had approximately 735,000 weekly listeners tuning in.

However, the program hasn’t managed to conquer the Melbourne audience yet, maintaining a 5.2% share and drawing approximately 420,000 listeners every week in Victoria’s capital city.

Kyle Sandilands blames his radio show's ratings struggle in Melbourne on 'pearl clutching' listeners: 'It is your fault'

In a turn of events, former KIIS FM host Jason ‘Jase’ Hawkins expresses that he will no longer tune in to the Kyle and Jackie O Show, following his departure from the station which was taken over by the duo.

In the past month, during the intense competition, the Jase and Lauren Show, broadcast on competing station Nova FM, was named as Melbourne’s most popular morning radio show.

Although the duo achieved ultimate satisfaction by leading the Melbourne radio charts, yet Jason doesn’t engage with his competitors as their program lacks a kid-friendly atmosphere.

He told the Herald Sun that during the past weekend, while driving, he instantly switched off the radio as Kyle & Jackie O were broadcasting their top show.

Kyle Sandilands blames his radio show's ratings struggle in Melbourne on 'pearl clutching' listeners: 'It is your fault'

On our journey to sports, my children were with me. Within the initial 20 seconds, I encountered things that I didn’t wish for my kids to hear. Consequently, regardless of my personal preference, I was unable to tune them out.

Jason elaborated that he felt deeply moved when the ratings arrived, symbolizing a sweet victory for him and Lauren over the powerful figures in the radio industry.

As someone who’s been around for a while, I’ve often sensed that our presence in this market hasn’t always been met with the seriousness it deserves, perhaps because we lack the glamour of TV personalities or ex-football stars, or the high-profile allure of other celebrities.

As a lifestyle connoisseur, I’ve often found myself feeling like a minnow amidst the whales, struggling for recognition. However, being here now, it feels validating, as if my presence and contributions are truly valued and appreciated.

In April, Kyle and Jackie O moved their morning radio program to Melbourne as part of a large-scale, multi-million dollar agreement, leading to the termination of Jase and Lauren’s breakfast show on KIIS FM.

At that moment, Kyle, without any apologies, expressed that he didn’t particularly care about his colleagues getting fired since it boiled down to who had the most listeners in the end.

He said to news.com.au that they didn’t care about the radio ratings anymore, which is why they moved to Melbourne. They had given Jase and Lauren on KIIS FM a fair try but realized they couldn’t surpass fourth place in the rankings, so they decided to move on.

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2024-10-05 18:34

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