Why former Kyle and Jackie O boss warns KIIS FM faces ‘carnage’ after axing of Sandilands and Henderson

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According to their previous manager, the exit of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson from KIIS FM will have a dramatically negative impact on the station.

The popular Kyle and Jackie O Show has ended following the cancellation of contracts worth $100 million for both Kyle Henderson and Jackie Sandilands, a move that industry expert Craig Bruce believes could have serious consequences.

Bruce, who spent ten years as program director for the popular radio stars at 2Day FM, shared on the Game Changers Radio podcast that dedicated fans will likely stop listening.

Bruce suggests that KIIS FM might experience a similar decline in listeners as Gold did after cancelling the Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones breakfast show.

Bruce predicted significant disruption when a long-running, established show like Amanda and Jonesy – which had been on the air for twenty years – is replaced with something new. He stated, ‘There will be carnage.’

Another industry insider, former head of Triple M Mike Fitzpatrick, agrees. 

As a longtime listener, I’ve noticed there will always be people who just tune in to a certain frequency, no matter who is on the radio. They’re loyal to the station itself, not necessarily to specific hosts like K and J. It’s just habit for them, and that’s okay!

That’s why people will start following K and J, and if they appear on a podcast or YouTube channel, their fans will quickly find them.

ARN abruptly ended Kyle Sandilands’ contract with KIIS FM on Tuesday night after his heated on-air argument with Tess Henderson.

Radio ratings were not on the duo’s side prior to the axing. 

The latest radio ratings reveal that The Kyle & Jackie O Show, which is no longer on air, saw a drop in listeners in Sydney. They also performed poorly in Melbourne, landing in eighth place – behind competing hosts Jase & Lauren on Nova 100.

Jackie’s ratings likely dropped after she suddenly left on February 20th, especially since it happened right after a public argument with her co-host.

Between January 18th and February 28th, Jackie was absent from the show for a full week, and during that time, the show’s audience dropped by 60,000 listeners.

Despite finishing second in Sydney’s radio ratings, the pair still achieved a strong 12.7% share at KIIS FM. Ben Fordham on 2GB was the top performer, leading by four percentage points.

Melbourne listeners are starting to tune in to The Kyle & Jackie O Show, giving it a boost in ratings after a challenging start nearly two years ago.

The survey showed a small gain of 0.1 percent, bringing their total market share to a modest 5.1 percent.

Their cumulative audience in Melbourne was just 403,000 listeners.

Nova 100’s breakfast show, hosted by Jason Hawkins and Lauren Phillips, moved into second place, gaining 2.2 percent to achieve an 11.1 percent share of the market.

Meanwhile, 3AW’s Breakfast with Ross and Russel show led the Melbourne market with an 18.9 share.

On Wednesday, Kyle Sandilands revealed that his radio show, The Kyle & Jackie O Show, had been cancelled. He stated that the show’s parent company, Australian Radio Network, had ended his ten-year contract, which was worth $100 million.

Only an hour after making his surprising announcement, news.com.au reported that Michael Stephenson, the CEO of ARN, emailed staff to confirm that The Kyle & Jackie O Show had been cancelled.

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2026-03-19 14:37