Kyle & Jackie O tipped to launch in Melbourne this week
Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson’s long-awaited launch into the Melbourne radio market will happen this Friday, an ARN insider has told Mumbrella.
Speculation as to when the pair will launch into the Melbourne market has been at fever pitch since news of their Melbourne launch broke last November.
A January start was assumed, especially given the month marked the ten-year anniversary of Kyle and Jackie O’s first KIIS show – seemingly a perfectly celebratory moment to launch into a new market.
By late January, Sandilands was still coy about the start date, telling the Herald Sun he hadn’t chosen one yet, with ARN telling Mumbrella the show was never intended to launch with the start of the 2024 ratings season.
On February 7, we got the closest thing to a confirmation date, when a Melbourne caller asked the pair directly when the show would start, telling them, “we need some decent radio down here.” Sandilands simply responded: “Six weeks.”
If that date was true at the time — ARN boss Ciaran Davis wouldn’t confirm or deny it to Mumbrella a fortnight ago — then this has since been moved forward.
KIIS have already been running on-air promotions for Kyle and Jackie O for a few weeks.
“We have started the pre-marketing down there,” Davis told Mumbrella late last month. “We have started the on-air promos, we have introduced them, in terms of some of the content that they do.”
It makes sense. After all, another beloved breakfast radio duo will also be launching a new show in Melbourne this Friday.
Jason Hawkins and Lauren Phillips, hosts of Jase and Lauren, were dumped from the KIIS Melbourne breakfast slot in order to make room for Kyle and Jackie O’s imminent launch. They were quickly snapped up by Nova 100 for their breakfast show, where they will go head-to-head with their usurpers at KIIS.
Jase and Lauren launches on Nova 100 with a three-hour show this Friday, ahead of the Victorian Labour Day long weekend. It makes sense for KIIS to launch with Kyle and Jackie O on the same date, to stop listeners migrating across to Nova with the popular breakfast team.
The timing also gives both teams a two-week run-up before the second ratings period starts.
Let the games begin.
Keep up to date with Mumbrella Daily
Got a tip?
Nathan Jolly is the Deputy Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
Linkedin
Speculation has absolutely not been at ‘fever pitch’. Please dont add journalistic mayo. No-one is actually talking about it…….!
User ID not verified.
Absolutely not happening before Easter, let alone this week.
User ID not verified.
Have your say