KIIS FM’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show has won the most listeners for any Australian radio show in history, toppling 2GB rival Ben Fordham in the latest radio ratings.
And Kyle Sandilands put salt in Fordham’s wounds by sending him a very cheeky text message on Tuesday morning.
The radio shock jock told Daily Mail Australia that he announced the ratings information to the talkback radio star via text message even before the results were released.
Kyle Sandilands has revealed the wild text message he sent rival Ben Fordham to break the news that he lost the radio ratings war before the results were even released
Radio Clash Enthusiasts gained 2.1% of breakfast audience share to 14.9%, while Fordham slipped to 14.8%, down 2.1% from last survey.
“I texted Ben before the results were out and I was like, ‘Sorry, Benny!’ Kyle said. And he was like, ‘How did that go?’ says, ‘Just a little better than you.’
A stunned Jackie chimed in, “Didn’t he know?” Did you tell him?
“He never knows,” Kyle said. “He is waiting for the press release to come out. He’s new to radio, so he doesn’t know what we know.
Jackie added: ‘Ben is always very personable. He will always text and congratulate us when it happens.
“Yeah, he’s fine,” Kyle said. “He’s going to cry tonight in his wife’s arms and his wife is listening too, so what hope does he have?”
Fordham hit back when contacted by Daily Mail Australia, saying: “You win some, you lose some. Face to face, we won 16 polls and they won two.
‘Good luck to them. We will be back,” he added.
Kyle and Jackie O, who told Daily Mail Australia they were ‘speechless’ over their results, drew 818,000 listeners in the latest survey, while their podcast was downloaded 1.7 million times in October alone.
KIIS FM’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show has won the most listeners for any Australian radio show in history, toppling 2GB rival Ben Fordham in the latest radio ratings
“The huge leap we took left us speechless; we didn’t see it coming,” Jackie said.
“The radio continues to grow and we’re thrilled to have people continue to join us,” Kyle added.
“We always want to increase the audience,” he continued. “We’ve grown viewership by more than 50% over the past five years.”
Jackie said the most common comments she hears from listeners are that they listen to The Kyle and Jackie O Show for an “escape” from the news and the stresses of everyday life.
“They’re on their way to work, they’re stuck in rush hour traffic, and they just want to laugh and listen to something fun,” she explained.
“We also do serious things,” Kyle clarified. “We give lots of freebies to people in need, there’s a lot more to it than you normally read in the headlines.”
“We still want to grow the viewership,” Kyle told Daily Mail Australia of the win. “We’ve grown viewership by over 50% over the past five years.
Discussing the bolder tone of The Kyle and Jackie O Show compared to other FM shows, Kyle said they try to tap into “what people really think” and also focus on promoting different points of view. view from all sides.
‘[Newsreader] brooklyn [Ross] love electric cars and green energy and want the wind to propel us forever, and I love putting fuel in the car, but we still get along and respect each other,’ he said.
“He tells me things in the hope that I’ll learn; I just wish he grows up one day and realizes that just because the ABC says something doesn’t mean it’s true.
“But we all get along, there’s no hate and everyone has a voice. One of our employees thinks the alien exists!”
Fordham hit back when contacted by Daily Mail Australia, saying: “You win some, you lose some. Face to face, we won 16 polls and they won two’
“It’s a tough time for everyone, I think,” added Jackie.
“So much is changing and there’s so much more acceptance in so many areas and we’ve always embraced that and it’s for the best.
“But I also think people feel like it’s going the other way too much and so they don’t want a 100% fully woke show.” They want balance and they want discussion.
“They love to hear these open discussions where we’re all honest and not afraid to say the wrong thing, just say exactly what we think and what we question.”
The Kyle and Jackie O Show saw an increase in listeners in the latest audience survey, claiming a 14.9% share, up 2.1%, while also attracting 818,000 listeners, up 80,000 compared to survey 6.
This is the highest number of listeners ever recorded for a radio show in history. It is also Kyle and Jackie O’s 31st consecutive survey result.
Duncan Campbell, ARN’s chief content officer, said in a statement: “Kyle and Jackie O are now officially the most successful breakfast crew in Australian radio history, with a show not only revered but often imitated around the world.
Jackie said the show’s listeners want “honest discussions” and not something that is “100% fully awake”.
“These outstanding results today demonstrate the unparalleled bond they have with their listeners, and it is truly remarkable that after 22 years on the air together, they continue to grow their audience and break records as Australia’s most listened to radio show, delivering outstanding results for our advertisers. .’
Kyle and Jackie recently won the Australian Commercial Radio Awards, winning Best On-Air Team and Best Networked Programme, among other trophies. The couple were also inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Last month Kyle blasted a Sydney newspaper for ‘fabricating’ a story about advertisers threatening to pull out of The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
The Daily Telegraph was pushing an anti-Kyle agenda at the time, saying there had been widespread outrage over his use of the word ‘spaz’.
In reality, most listeners to The Kyle and Jackie O Show weren’t offended by the term – which the publication called an “abledist” slur – and only a handful of disabled activists on Twitter complained about it. .
After the newspaper escalated its attack by publishing an article about brands “reviewing their contracts” with KIIS FM, Sandilands went wild live.
He said he was sincerely sorry if regular listeners were offended by his words, but said the story was a beating intended to “ruin” him, adding that station announcers only spoke under pressure from the Daily Telegraph.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone. I like people to feel fun, relaxed, happy and safe,” he said, before adding firmly, “I will never change. I still don’t change [for] the waking world.’
The couple were recently inducted into the Australian Commercial Radio Awards Hall of Fame.