Kyle and Jackie dominated the FM breakfast ratings in Sydney for years.
Kyle and Jackie dominated the FM breakfast ratings in Sydney for years.
The Kyle and Jackie O Show has delivered a final “screw you” from beyond the grave.
The KIIS FM breakfast juggernaut, which was abruptly axed by parent company ARN after an explosive on-air fallout between the two hosts amid allegations of misconduct, finished its tenure in typical, defiant fashion …by leading the Sydney FM radio ratings one last time.
After dominating FM breakfast radio for more than 20 years, the show finished with a 12.7% audience share in the first round of ratings (for the period January 18 to February 28).
That’s miles ahead of its nearest competition, Smooth FM’s More Music Breakfast Show With Bogart Torelli, which recorded a 10.1% share.
The shock jock made it clear that he wants to be allowed back behind the microphone, saying: “I’ve got a contract until 2034. I’ve got rights under that contract. And ARN hasn’t honoured the contract. So, it’s over to my lawyers.”
Will Kyle return to radio?
He continued: “To the people who tune in every morning – you lot are the reason I’ve done this for 25 years. You didn’t get a say in this. Neither did I. But my lawyers will. I’m not done. Not by a long way.”
What will Kyle and Jackie O’s listeners do now?
There are genuine fears within the industry that Kyle and Jackie O fans will now turn their back on radio altogether, rather than find a new breakfast show to listen to.
“Based on the audience feedback that I’m seeing, this is certainly a likely fallout,” Craig Bruce, host of the Game Changers Radio podcast, told news.com.au recently.
“There’s been no other radio show like Kyle and Jackie O,” he said. “They have been the benchmark, and if you’ve been listening to them for 20 years, the alternatives are weak sauce.”
If hundreds of thousands of people were to give up on radio in favour of podcasts, streaming or audiobooks, it could have a devastating impact on the industry’s ad rates and revenue.
Jackie O. Photo / Getty Images
Talent would have to take pay cuts, some would be let go, the numbers of producers and back-end staff could shrink, and more shows could be networked rather than having local shows in each city.
What are the alternatives?
After years of stability, the Sydney FM breakfast market has seen a massive shake-up in recent months.
Gold FM’s Jonesy and Amanda wrapped up their breakfast show after 20 years, with Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie also saying goodbye to the 6-9am slot.
Who will win?
The sudden collapse of the Kyle and Jackie O Show means the Sydney FM breakfast throne is vacant for the first time in 20 years.
So who will rise to seize their crowns?
We’ll have a much better idea on April 23 when the second round of radio ratings are set to be released.
Until then, you can bet each station will be doing all they can to lure over Kyle and Jackie’s loyal listeners, assuming of course those people are willing to give radio a second chance.
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