Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O earn most listeners in Aussie radio history

KIIS FMs The Kyle and Jackie O Show has been Sydney’s top rated FM breakfast radio show for years.

But now Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson have another milestone to celebrate after overthrowing 2GB rival Ben Fordham while earning the most listeners for any Australian radio show in history.

The pair, who told Daily Mail Australia they were “speechless” by the results, drew 818,000 listeners in the latest survey, while their Kyle and Jackie O Show podcast was downloaded 1.7 million times in October alone.

“The huge jump we took left us speechless, we didn’t see it coming,” said Jackie.

“Radio is still growing and we’re excited to see people keep jumping on board,” added Kyle.

“We always want to grow the audience,” he continued. “We’ve increased the audience by more than 50 percent in the last five years.”

Jackie said the most common feedback she hears from listeners is that they listen to The Kyle and Jackie O Show to “escape” the news and stress 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 a lot back to people who are struggling, there is a lot more to it than you usually read in the headlines.’

When asked about the overthrow of Ben Fordham, Kyle admitted to telling the viewing news to the talkback radio star via text message.

“I texted Ben before the results went public and said, ‘Sorry, Benny!’ And he wrote back, “How did it go?” And I said, “Just a little bit better than you.”‘

A stunned Jackie chimed in, “Didn’t he know? Were you the one who told him?’

“He never knows,” Kyle said. “He’s waiting for the press release to come out. He’s new to the radio, so he doesn’t know what we know.’

Jackie added: “Ben is always quite courteous. He will always text and congratulate us when it happens.”

“Yeah, he’s okay,” Kyle said. “Tonight he cries in his wife’s arms and his wife listens to us too, so what hope does he have left?”

Fordham fired back when approached by Daily Mail Australia, saying: ‘You win some, you lose some. Head to head, we won 16 surveys and they won two.”

‘Good luck to them. We’ll be back,” he added.

Discussing the edgier tone of The Kyle and Jackie O Show compared to other FM shows, Kyle said they try to capitalize on “what people really think” and also focus on promoting different points of view from all sides.

‘[Newsreader] Brooklyn [Ross] loves electric cars and green power and wants the wind to power us forever, and I love to throw fuel in the car, but we still hang out and respect each other,” he said.

“He tells me things in the hope that I will learn; I wish he grew up one day and realizes that just because the ABC says something doesn’t mean it’s true.

“But we all get along well, there is no hatred and everyone has a voice. One of our employees thinks aliens exist!’

“It’s a tough time for everyone, I guess,” Jackie added.

“So much is changing and there is so much more acceptance in many areas and we’ve always embraced that and it’s been for the better.

“But I also think that people feel like it’s going too much the other way and so don’t want a show that’s completely 100 percent awake. They want the balance and they want the discussion.

“They like to hear those open discussions where we’re all honest and not afraid to say the wrong thing, but just say exactly what we think and what we question.”

The Kyle and Jackie O Show enjoyed a rise in listenership in its latest ratings, claiming a 14.9 percent share, up 2.1 percent, while also attracting 818,000 listeners, up 80,000 from the previous year. Survey 6.

It is the highest number of listeners ever recorded for a radio program in history. This is also Kyle and Jackie O’s 31st consecutive #1 survey result.

Duncan Campbell, ARN’s Chief Content Officer, said in a statement: “The Kyle and Jackie O are now officially the most successful breakfast team in Australian radio history, with a show that is not only revered, but often imitated worldwide.

“These exceptional results today demonstrate the unparalleled connection they have with their listeners, and it is truly remarkable that after 22 years on air together, they continue to grow their audience and break records as Australia’s most listened-to radio show, with great results for our advertisers. .’

Kyle and Jackie recently won the Australian Commercial Radio Awards, winning Best On-Air Team and Best Networked Program, among others. The couple was also inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Last month, Kyle criticized a Sydney newspaper for “crafting” a story about advertisers threatening to pull out of The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

The Daily Telegraph ran an anti-Kyle agenda at the time, claiming that there was widespread outrage over his use of the word ‘spaz’.

In reality, most listeners of The Kyle and Jackie O Show weren’t offended by the term — calling the publication a “skillful” slur — and only a handful of disability activists on Twitter complained about it.

After the newspaper ramped up its assault by posting a story about brands “reviewing their contracts” with KIIS FM, Sandilands aired live.

He said he was sincerely sorry if regular listeners were offended by his words, but made it clear that the story was a beat-up story to “ruin” him, adding that the station’s advertisers spoke out only under pressure from The Daily Telegraph.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I like to make people feel nice, relaxed, happy and safe,” he said, before firmly adding: “I’m never going to change. I still don’t change [for] the waking world.’