Kyle Sandilands mocks Rove and Sam’s radio show: ‘Bloody waste of time’

KYLE Sandilands has taken yet another swipe at Rove McManus and Sam Frost after the latest round of radio ratings were released today.

KYLE Sandilands has taken yet another swipe at Rove McManus after the latest round of radio ratings were released today.

The results show that Rove and his 2Day FM co-host Sam Frost have failed to improve their ratings and remain stagnant with a 3.0 per cent audience share in Sydney which they’ve had since they hit the airwaves together back in October last year.

The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Kiis FM on the other hand is once again the number one FM breakfast show in Sydney with an 11.3 per cent audience share.

“In all honesty, if you worked over at (Southern Cross) Austereo and you had those Rove McManus figures ... it’s just a joke,” Kyle said of his former network on air this morning.

“I just don’t understand why they’ve even got anyone advertising on their station. No one’s listening, no one cares, why bother advertising?”

An audibly uncomfortable Jackie O did her best to move on, saying, “OK ... well ... interesting way to end the show,” but Kyle kept going.

“That’s just what I honestly think. It’s a bloody waste of time,” he said.

Rove and Sam have a massive task ahead of them in the ratings battle.

Radio bosses often claim that it takes up to two years for a breakfast show to find its audience but one industry insider said a significant ratings gain for Rove and Sam is unlikely.

“It was dead from the day it started,” the insider said.

Today’s ratings coincide with confirmation from Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) that Rove and Sam’s executive producer, Tim Dunlop, has been moved off the show and into a new national role.

But according to SCA’s Hit Network head of content, Dunlop’s departure from the show has nothing to do with ratings.

“Tim’s move has been in the works for a couple of weeks now,” Gemma Fordham said.

“It’s not in any way associated with his performance with the show or the show’s performance. Even in his new role, he’s still working with Rove and Sam.”

Dunlop will be replaced by the show’s current senior producer, Alex Spurway.

Speaking to news.com.au, Fordham also backed her breakfast hosts and stressed that they’re “in it for the long haul”.

“This is the beginning of three years and the show, we’re very realistic about how long it takes to get the show where we want it,” Fordham said.

“They are actually getting new listeners. They’ve continued to get more and more listeners ... and at this point, that’s all we want.”

Buddies: Rove McManus with Jack Black and Sam Frost.

Today wasn’t the first time Kyle has sunk the boot into Rove and Sam.

In January he predicted on air that Rove “will stay for at least a year” on 2Day FM but Sam wouldn’t last as long.

“They will blame that poor girl for the ratings so they will replace her,” he said.

“Where they have gone wrong with Rove is he just doesn’t translate on radio … the problem is most of his humour is in his facial expression and you don’t see it.”

It would be fair to say that Rove and Kyle aren’t great mates with a feud between the media heavyweights dating back to the late 2000s.

When asked in 2011 how it began, Rove was dismissive and said he “had no idea”.

“As I keep saying to people, for there to be a rivalry it has to go two ways and it’s just from him,” he said.

“I have no feelings for him either way.”

That comment didn’t go down too well with Kyle, who then spoke on his radio show about the bad blood.

“I’ll tell you what happened,” the radio star said in July 2011.

“We (Kyle and his ex-wife Tamara Jaber) used to go on Rove’s show and like everyone else I thought he was nice. And when Tamara brought those songs out a few years ago and the newspapers started caning her and lying, saying I was the only person playing it... Rove jumped on the bandwagon and started to have a go.

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O on the red carpet for the Commercial Radio Awards last year. Picture Mike Batterham

“So when he started sinking the boot in, I started hating him and then when Rove’s wife (Belinda Emmett) passed away, he and I met up again and he said ‘I’m sorry, I understand, I shouldn’t have gone there with the Tamara situation’,” said Sandilands.

“Then two weeks later he was an a**hole to me and Tamara on his TV show.

“Everyone thinks he’s cookies and cream when he’s a little prick ... He’s a little a**hole.”

Rove McManus opened up to news.com.au in February about his radio show and said he was “supremely happy” with its progress.

“Some shows are going to be better than others, but on the whole, it really feels like we’re just on a really great track now,” he said.

The Gold Logie winner also responded to Sam Frost’s critics.

“I think she’s doing a tremendous job and there is nobody else that I would wanna have in that chair talking to me for three hours everyday,” he said.

“She’s just an absolute delight to hang out with, she’s so naturally talented. I’m her number one fan. I think she’s fantastic.”