It’s a flop: Kyle and Jackie O show sinks further in Melbourne
By Calum Jaspan
The Kyle and Jackie O Show has hit a new low in its entry into the Melbourne market, dropping to eighth in the breakfast slot after its share and listeners fell in the sixth survey of the year.
The show, hosted by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson, had 71,000 fewer listeners compared with the previous survey, as its share in the breakfast slot also fell by almost a full point.
It’s been a tough start to the national expansion for the pair, who have dominated Sydney’s FM radio waves for almost two decades.
In the latest radio survey from ratings agency GfK for July 7 to September 14, the duo’s breakfast show sank to a 5.2 per cent share, down from 6.1 per cent in the previous survey.
The show’s cumulative audience also fell for the second successive survey, from 491,000 to 420,000. The figures are a stark contrast to its performance in Sydney, where its share was 13.7 per cent at breakfast, down 0.6 per cent. However, The Kyle and Jackie O Show replaced 2GB’s Ben Fordham as the top-rating show in the slot in Sydney.
2GB also took a significant hit, dropping 3.1 percentage points to land on a 10.2 per cent share, dropping to fourth spot in the Sydney market behind KIIS, WSFM and Smooth.
The share figure measures the percentage of the total radio audience during a given period, while the cumulative figure measures the total number of people who listened to a station for at least eight minutes during the survey.
KIIS’ overall share in Melbourne fell to 4.6 per cent, down 1 percentage point. The station delivered a 7.6 per cent share in the final survey of 2023, while the breakfast show’s predecessors Jase and Lauren, who were booted to make way for Sandilands and Henderson, delivered a 9.1 per cent share that same survey.
Since moving to FM rivals Nova, Jase and Lauren continue to outperform The Kyle and Jackie O Show, with a 9.6 per cent share. The Nova show dropped 0.3 percentage points, meaning its status as the number-one FM radio show in Melbourne lasted just one survey, replaced by Fox’s Fifi, Fev and Nick, which rose 0.4 points to a 10 per cent share overall.
3AW’s Russel and Ross grew 1.2 points to land on a 22.5 per cent share, more than double the next show at breakfast. The station’s drive show hosted by Jacqui Felgate grew marginally to a 9.1 per cent share. The station was the official radio broadcaster for the Paris Olympics, which took place during the survey period.
ABC Melbourne’s Sammy J dropped back to a 7 per cent share from 8.2 per cent, ceding gains made in the previous survey. The station fell by 0.8 points overall, to a 5.8 per cent share, while Drive host Ali Moore’s show fell, taking just 4.8 per cent of listeners in the slot. Raf Epstein’s Mornings program also dropped 1.5 percentage points to sit on a 5.8 per cent share.
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