Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O dish the dirt on 2Day FM and tell how they will rule the airwaves once again
EXCLUSIVE: IN an explosive interview, Kyle and Jackie O unleash on their former employers and tell how they will be the No 1 show again.
KYLE Sandilands isn't used to being muzzled and when a media blackout was lifted, the FM king let loose.
The 42-year-old had been contractually silenced by his former employer Southern Cross Austereo but, a week out from he and Jackie O's new show starting, he's been given the freedom to speak - and he made the most of it.
In an exclusive interview, Sandilands slammed the network he worked at for 13 years and labelled the on-air team replacing him - led by long-time foe Merrick Watts - a "mess".
The larger -than-life shock jock also declared his new show with on-air partner Jackie Henderson, at the rebranded Kiis FM, would finish the first radio ratings survey in No.1 position next month.
"I promised myself I wouldn't s***can them," Sandilands said in the duo's first sit-down since switching camps.
"But they've really f...ed it. And there's been all this talk of; 'Oh, they wanted us out and they wanted us fired'. That's bulls**t. They lost $200 million off their share price the day we announced we were (leaving).
"No one is going to do that on purpose."
And the normally convivial Henderson also took a jab, saying there was no truth to reports it was Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) who pulled the pin on their show, which topped Sydney's FM market for 52 consecutive ratings surveys.
"They really never thought we'd leave ... never leave 2Day FM," Henderson said.
"And I heard that from a very good source. That's why they had to quickly pull together something."
2Day FM will tomorrow launch the new-look breakfast team of Watts, Jules Lund, Mel B and Sophie Monk, a week out from the start of the official radio ratings period.
Nova 96.9 will also rush their breakfast team to air a week early tomorrow - a pre-emptive move by both networks that Sandilands has dubbed "desperate".
He also joked that anyone who continued to listen to the 2Day FM show from now on would be: "Trapped in an iron lung with no control over their bodily movements."
"It's just gonna be a disaster," he said.
"I'm so sorry, but I totally believe that. I think we will take all of our listeners ... that's what I so arrogantly believe.
"Put it this way, if my favourite show is Revenge on Channel 7 and it shows up on Channel 9 - I'd still watch it.
"I don't care where it is, I just want to watch it.
"If they stop selling Kit-Kat's at the 7/11 and only sold them at the Shell servo ... well, that's where I'd be at."
Sandilands also took aim at his old content boss Guy Dobson who recently labelled Kyle and Jackie O as "out of date" in a newspaper interview.
"Guy Dobson is a f...wit. I'm sorry, but he seriously won't be employed in the next maybe three months," Sandilands said.
"He has come out and said that because he knows they are in a world of s***.
"They have slapped together a breakfast show which won't work and he's trying to make himself relevant."
Not surprisingly, Sandilands saved his biggest serve for Watts who made headlines recently claiming it was SCA who made the decision to axe the Kyle and Jackie O show.
"Poor old Merrick over there, running around and telling everyone I got fired," Sandilands said.
"Well, now he is going to experience the same old s*** bricks that we had to, day in and day out. And I don't think that team will get on. Because Merrick is a f...head."
The duo will pull the covers off their new show at the rebranded Kiis FM on January 20, with Henderson admitting the pair won't drift too far from their usual format.
They have retained their former 2Day FM executive producer Simon Greally, with ex-SCA programming head Derek Bargwanna also jumping ship.
"But obviously we want to do something fresher than what we've done," Henderson said.
"We've had ideas … sitting in our little vault that we haven't been able to do for whatever reason."
While Sandilands was relaxing in Fiji over the Christmas break, Henderson admits she was hard at work planning the new show.
"I wish I was like (Kyle). I wish I could just switch off like that. We obviously wanted to create a big show, come up with a big bang, big things," Henderson said.
"I think when we started together is probably when we had the most fun together - when you're trying to kind of prove yourself and do something new and you're not number one."
Asked if they had a target ratings figure in mind for the first survey due at the end of February, Henderson was hesitant.
The pair left their post at 2Day FM as the number-one FM breakfast show with an audience share of more than 10 per cent.
Sandilands, however, was not so hesitant.
"F... it. I'll say nine. Nine per cent. There I've said it," he said, laughing.
KYLE AND JACKIE UNLEASH SOME MORE:
On Southern Cross Austereo.
Kyle: "In all honesty I was sort of bored to death over the road, over at the other station I was getting bored. I promised myself I wouldn't sh.tcan them. But they've really f..ked it. And there's been all this talk of; 'Oh they wanted us out and they wanted us fired'. That's bullsh.t. They lost $200 million off their share price the day we announced we were (leaving). No one is going to do that on purpose."
"So um, and unfortunately, poor old Merrick over there, running around and telling everyone I got fired, and I actually believe he thinks that, which I don't believe he is doing it as a stunt."
Jackie: "I think he may have actually been told that."
Kyle: "Yeah and he is now going to experience the same old s*** bricks that we had to, day in and day out. Like the direction there - there is just no direction.
"There's no vibe over there, so that's why I wanted something new.
"These are real radio people, not just accountants who have bought a radio station, "Real through and through radio people. We have worked with a lot of people here over the years…we walk around the hall way and are like' Oh hello, hello, and hello. It's just good, good radio people here. A new station, it's just fresher, it's about time Sydney had a little bit of an injection of something new.
"There is no laziness here. There's no, like, complacent laziness, no arrogant, sit back attitude.
"We're very hungry and always have been, we like it, you know. We get up every day and come in here, we don't want to sort of, ever get to the stage where we are dragging ourselves to work and hating our job
"And it never got to that stage (with SCA), but it is a bit frustrating at times. I'm just excited about these people.
"The thing I like about this place is it's like a real radio station to me, with the rabbit warren nooks and crannies.
"Everyone hates that office at 2day. But it's a nice energy here. They were beautiful looking offices, but even since we've left, a lot of sales-ey people have just popped up here. And I've said; "You've popped up here" and they say; "Yeah we're following the money," and you can't blame them
.
On the approach from ARN:
"Well I was told a story, I don't know if I should share it but I'm going to.
"The program director (Duncan Campbell) and CEO (Cieran Davis) were saying; 'What are we going to do and how are we going to win'. And they said you write down something on a piece of paper and I'll write it down - you know the old thing, and they both wrote down that they needed this show.
"And they told me this story and I said; Well that's great, and that's how it all started. "And they knew they were in for it. It's not a cheap show to run. But our support staff are good as well and they are all high paid.
"Because you want to look after your staff if they are all good. I don't like turning over people - I don't mind turning them over if they are useless at their job, or if they don't live for the job, I don't mind if they go but when you get someone good, I'm like a stamp collector - I want to just keep them forever in a little book like pressed flowers."
On leaving SCA:
"We were negotiating and they were giving us extremely good offers to stay.
"The last offer was extremely attractive but we had already made up our minds by then to come here.
"It wasn't just about the money - I've read it's just about the salary, but just let me tell you, I'm never ever, ever, taking a salary cut, that will never happen, but it wasn't about the money ever, we had already started on this new station on Kiis FM and what it's gonna be and by then, the vision and excitement coming from this building, was just - its couldn't be ignored. This was the only option. We could have stayed there, then they sent us contracts to stay there, but this was a more attractive offer by the end of the day, in total.
"I was sad to leave some good people behind, and 13 years of radio stuff in the computer that they own…that was like losing all of your wardrobe or something like that.
"You feel alone. Like, 'Where are all my nice things?' and stuff like that. But they are just things by the end of the day. It's all for the future, we intend to be around for another 10 years, if not more. I'll do it till I'm dead. But I'll be an old tragedy like (John) Laws and (Jackie) will be long gone, doing the whole Ita Buttrose thing (laughs).
On Merrick Watts:
Kyle: "He'll very quickly realise that the tax department sized company that he works for, is pretty much that. No one cares when you listen to the radio, who owns or has the biggest company. No one gives a f*** about that. People just switch on and go; 'I like the song or I don't'. We all switch around and flick all the time. It'll be them pretty much pushing s*** uphill from what I can see.
"Poor old Merrick over there, running around and telling everyone I got fired. Well now he is going to experience the same old sh.t bricks that we had to, day in and day out. And I don't think that team will get on. Because Merrick is a f..khead.
"The reason we don't get on…I'll tell you why, there's been no falling out. He's just a dickhead. He's the dickhead when you go to
a work junket or whatever, he is there talking with the crazy voice going ; "Where'd you park your Rolls Kyle!" and he's telling everyone he took a cab because he's such a common bloke, and I just think; "You're a f*** head."
On 2Day FM's new breakfast show:
Kyle:"You have four alpha personalities on there, all together which means it's all gonna be (AHHHH weird noise) - 'I wanna be the star,'.
"Then you bring in one guest and all of a sudden there are five voices, it's just sort of sounds like a massive mess. But I wish them the luck. I like three of the four people on that show, so I wish them the best. But they probably won't be very successful….(laughs). Sorry."
Jackie: "Well look, I think it's foolish to say people won't sample it.
"I think people will sample it out of curiosity. I think it's arrogant to say people are going to come over immediately. That's not realistic to say at all, so we are aware that will happen and they will be curious."
Kyle: "Well Mel is only there for 3 months, one hour a day. That won't last…They would have done that because they had Merrick, Sophie Jules, and thought f***, this isn't good enough. Let's get Mel to do it.
"I know that already for a fact, she's only there for three months, one hour a day as guest, which to me, feels like interviewing the same person everyday which would be a nightmare.
"But I like Mel she is a good talent, but she's not very much a morning person, neither is Sophie, so it's going to be very difficult. I'm very much a morning person, I'm gone by the afternoon. I'm sure Jules and Merrick will be fine for the morning (but) I don't think those two will get on very well either, knowing them. I don't think they'll get on, cause Merrick is a f*** head and Jules is nice.
"It's just gunna be a disaster. I'm so sorry, but I totally believe that…I know all those people and I just can't wait for it to fall apart. So Mel will be the first one to leave in 3 months, and it will be a battle - it's him or me, between Jules and Merrick, and yeah that's it. It'll end up being Jules and Sophie in 6 months' time. That's what I think."
On SCA's chief content boss Guy Dobson:
Kyle: "Guy Dobson is a f***wit. He has come out and said that because he knows they are in a world of sh.t. They have slapped together a breakfast show which won't work and he's trying to make himself relevant. I've even sent him a text saying; 'You're a f*** *** for saying that'. And then I had other executives from Austereo contact me and say; 'Don't worry about what Guy says ... that's not how we feel, we are devastated you've left."
‘Dark days’: Mum’s heartbreaking ten-year ordeal before miracle bub
After a decade of IVF attempts, three crushing losses and spending a sizeable house deposit, one woman had a miracle bub through a low-cost model. But she says more needs to be done to help women in regional NSW.
‘Shocking failure’: Abbott slams PM over terror intelligence breakdown
Ex-PM Tony Abbott and security experts have blasted an “alarming breakdown” in communication between the state and federal government as Sydney narrowly dodged a ‘mass casualty event’ over a foiled anti-Semitic terror plot.