ABC’s Sharnelle Vella and Bob Murphy slump again, Kyle and Jackie O notch up ratings bump after mushroom legal threat

ABC Melbourne radio continues to lose listeners while Kyle and Jackie O, who have been warned they could face criminal prosecution for comments about mushroom cook Erin Patterson, have notched up a rare lift.

ABC Melbourne has dipped again while Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O have finally notched up a ratings bump for KIIS FM in the breakfast ratings war.

ABC Breakfast hosts Sharnelle Vella and Bob Murphy dropped from a 7.6 per cent audience share to 6.8 per cent in the latest results released Tuesday morning.

The drop came after a slight boost last survey.

ABC Radio Melbourne breakfast hosts Sharnelle Vella and Bob Murphy. Picture: Supplied

Kyle and Jackie O lifted half a percentage point — from 5.1 to 5.6 — but that is still almost half of what the team they replaced, Jase Hawkins and Lauren Phillips, is rating.

The Nova duo increased their lead from 10.2 to 10.8, just ahead of GOLD FM’s Christian O’Connell on 10.1.

The latest ratings period covers April 27 to July 5.

KIIS FM breakfast radio hosts Jackie 'O' Henderson and Kyle Sandilands. Picture: Supplied

It was revealed this month the Kyle and Jackie O show could face criminal prosecution for contempt after Sandilands ran a live commentary on the Erin Patterson trial, declaring that authorities should “just lock that bitch up”.

The controversial radio show discussed the high-profile trial, weeks before Patterson was found guilty of triple murder and attempted murder.

“Come on, bro, you can tell by looking at her, just lock that bitch up (bleep) (bleep) (bleep),” Sandilands said in the now-deleted audio.

Hours later, Justice Christopher Beale said he would be referring the matter to the Office of Public Prosecutions for contempt proceedings.

“I encourage all commentators to engage their brains before they open their mouths, as they may otherwise land themselves and their organisations in hot water,” he said.

Sandilands is in trouble over comments he made about Erin Patterson before her guilty verdict. Picture: Nadir Kinani

The rollercoaster continued elsewhere with Triple M’s Mick In The Morning having the biggest gain of 1.5 percentage points, from 5.9 to 7.4.

3AW’s breakfast powerhouse duo Ross Stevenson and Russel Howcroft dropped from 18.1 to 16.6 while Mornings with Tom Elliott slid from 14.9 to 13.8.

ABC Melbourne was slightly down in mornings and drive but remained stable in afternoons.

There were small gains across the board for SEN, the highest in afternoons with Dwayne Russell.

Also in breakfast, FOX FM’s Fifi, Fev and Nick remained the same on 8.9, while Smoothfm’s Mike Perso was not far behind on 8.1

GOLD FM was pleased with its share of overall listeners, praising its best result since 1992.

Dave Cameron, long-serving chief content officer of Southern Cross Austereo, is leaving the company which could mean a shake up for Triple M and FOX FM.

Originally published as ABC’s Sharnelle Vella and Bob Murphy slump again, Kyle and Jackie O notch up ratings bump after mushroom legal threat