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Kyle & Jackie O ratings plummet in nightmare figures for 2Day FM

The Kyle & Jackie O show has lost nearly a fifth of its audience share in the wake of the lie detector scandal, new figures reveal.  

According to radio ratings published today by Nielsen, the Sydney show’s audience share has dropped from 12% to 9.8%, the biggest fall on any station in Sydney or Melbourne. This represents a drop of more than 18% of The Kyle & Jackie O Show’s listener share although it is still the most listened to FM breakfast show in the city.

The last ratings period – which covers June 28 to September 5 – included the turbulent period of the infamous Kyle & Jackie O lie detector incident.

It was on July 29 that the Kyle & Jackie O show asked a 14-year-old girl about her sexual experiences and she blurted out that she had been raped. The show – which goes out in 2Day FM’s Sydney breakfast slot – was also syndicated as an hour-long show across Austereo’s national network.

The following week, on August 2, amid a continuing media storm and growing pressure from advertisers, the show was taken off the air. It came back on August 18.

But on September 8, just after the end of the ratings period, Sandilands made his comments about Magda Szubanski losing weight in a concentration camp. The next day Austereo suspended him, drafting in Dannii Minogue and Andrew G as stand-ins.

The network has not yet made a comment on when, or if, Sandilands will return. Because of school holidays, the current ratings period does not resume until this Sunday.

2Day FM’s share of audience from 5.30am to midnight fell from 10.7% to 8.9%, the biggest drop of any Sydney station. It was exacerbated by a fall from a 17.2% to 14.2% share in the Hamish & Andy drivetime slot.

The most listened-to station in Sydney – according to the ratings – remains 2GB, with a share of 13.3%. However the station’s Alan Jones show, which has seen him miss significant parts of the survey period because of illness, has suffered. It fell from a share of 17.8% to 16.5%.

The biggest growth came at 2UE’s breakfast show, presented by the soon-to-depart Mike Carlton. it was up from 6.6% to 8.1%.

In Melbourne, the scale of the task faced by Eddie McGuire in his new breakfast show at Austereo’s Triple M became clear. The station’s share in the timeslot is just 3.7%.

Melbourne’s most listened-to radio station remains 3AW with 16.2%. Fox FM is the biggest rating FM commercial broadcaster with 13.4%.

In Brisbane, Nova 106.9 strengthened its lead, with a rise from 12.4% to 12.8% share. The biggest prime time movement in the city was triple M’s breakfast show, down by 1.7%.

In Adelaide, there was litle movement, with 5AA still dominating.

In Perth, there was a rare piece of good news for Austereo, with Mix 94.5’s audience leaping from 15.8% to 18.5%.

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