‘They are not acting like a national show’: Where it’s going wrong for Kyle and Jackie O in Melbourne
Kyle and Jackie O’s launch in Melbourne this year has not had the start many predicted – so where has it gone wrong?
Last week, after posting a disappointing 4.0% result in the Melbourne radio ratings, Kyle Sandilands blasted the local audience and blamed them for the powerhouse duo’s ratings, even taking a shot at now-NOVA pair Jase & Lauren, who were moved on from KIIS to make way for Kyle and Jackie O.
“I blame everyone in Melbourne,” Sandilands said.
“It is your fault, you are late to the party, you are pearl clutchers, you all love the sh*t show that used to be on here that we a***holed, after years of shit — a***holed them over to NOVA.”
Appearing on a new episode of the Mumbrellacast, audio expert and the former head of content at Southern Cross Austereo who worked with the duo during his time at the network, Craig Bruce, said he was “shocked” with the direction of the show following its launch in Melbourne in April.
“My initial reaction was, ‘Do we have codes in Australia anymore? Where is ACMA?’ The show was pornographic, explicit, and in all the wrong places,” Bruce said.
Though ARN has insisted there are no plans to do so, Sandilands has shared hopes for The Kyle and Jackie O Show to go national, which Bruce said is still a possibility given their “historic” 10-year deal with the network.
But things need to change.
“They’re going to have to get together on how to execute this plan, and I don’t think that has happened yet,” Bruce said.
“It has to be national at some point for ARN for the numbers to work, I would imagine. But I think the point is that they are not acting like a national show at the moment.
Craig Bruce
“They have a ride or die audience with them in Sydney who take the good with the bad… and there is a brand new audience in Melbourne hearing them for the first time.
“I don’t get a sense that there’s been any discussion internally at ARN… the attitude is ‘We don’t need to come to Melbourne. We don’t need to get in front of you. We don’t need to know anything about you. We don’t need to understand you.’ And I think that’s missing a really big piece.
“At the moment they are a Sydney product that Melbourne is having to take whether they like it or not. There’s just a lot of work I think they need to do collectively.”
Listen to the full episode here.
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Neil Griffiths is the Managing Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
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It’s the junkiest of junk food entertainment.
Their contribution to society is to actively make it worse. Doesn’t even qualify as a guilty pleasure – it’s just no-substance dreck.
I put their success in other markets down to exclusive broadcasting deals and inertia in moving the dial. Otherwise, it’s baffling.
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Everyone in Melbourne hates your obtuse, loud mouth persona.
Numbers dont lie!
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