Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson have been dealt another blow after their show was officially axed this week.
Results from the first radio survey of the year show the now-defunct The Kyle & Jackie O Show lost fans in Sydney and finished in a dismal eighth place in Melbourne behind rivals Jase & Lauren on Nova 100.
Jackie’s abrupt departure on February 20, following her on-air blow-up with her co-host, likely influenced the fall in numbers.
In the survey period between January 18 and February 28, Jackie was off air for a solid week before the show lost 60,000 listeners.
Still, the former duo managed to end their careers at KIIS FM in second spot in the Sydney market with a 12.7 per cent share, with 2GB’s Ben Fordham topping the survey by four percentage points.
In Melbourne, The Kyle & Jackie O Show gained some traction in the ratings in a market where they have struggled since making their debut there nearly two years ago.
Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson have been dealt another blow after their show was officially axed this week. Results from the first radio survey of the year show the now-defunct The Kyle & Jackie O Show lost fans in Sydney and finished in a dismal eighth place in Melbourne against rivals Jase & Lauren on Nova 100
Jackie’s abrupt departure on February 20, following her on-air blow-up with her co-host, likely influenced the fall in numbers
According to the survey, they gained 0.1 percentage point, which gave them a not-so-impressive 5.1 per cent of the market.
Their cumulative audience in Melbourne was just 403,000 listeners.
Over on Nova 100, their arch rivals Jason Hawkins and Lauren Phillips’ breakfast show leapt into second spot, jumping 2.2 per cent to land an 11.1 market share.
Meanwhile, 3AW’s Russel & Ross show led the Melbourne market with an 18.9 share.
The end of The Kyle & Jackie O Show was announced on Wednesday when Kyle released a statement at 7am on Wednesday announcing that KIIS’ parent company, Australian Radio Network, had terminated his 10-year, $100 million contract.
Just an hour after his ‘ bombshell statement, news.com.au reported that ARN chief executive Michael Stephenson sent an email to staff announcing that The Kyle & Jackie O Show had been axed.
‘This morning, ARN announced that it has issued a notice of termination of contract with Kyle and Quasar Media,’ the email read.
The end of The Kyle & Jackie O Show was announced on Wednesday when Kyle released a statement at 7am on Wednesday announcing that KIIS’ parent company, Australian Radio Network, had terminated his 10-year, $100 million contract
‘As a result ARN will no longer present the Kyle and Jackie O Show.’
News of the show’s axing sent shockwaves through KIIS staff, with the publication reporting that not all show staff are directly employed by ARN, but instead through Sandilands’ company, King Kyle.
An insider told news.com.au that staff were worried for their futures and angry at how the situation was handled.
‘Many staff found out through social media instead of an official statement. It wasn’t until after the news broke that staff were advised officially,’ the insider said.
‘I am just so angry about how it has all been handled. It’s not how the situation should be handled, especially when the team that worked on that show are still showing up every day to work.’
Daily Mail reached out to ARN, who declined to comment.
ARN announced last month that Jackie’s $100million contract had been terminated after she told executives she ‘cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands’ following his harsh on–air comments that left her in tears.
They also provided written notice to Kyle stating it considers his behaviour during the show on February 20 to be ‘an act of serious misconduct which is in breach of ARN’s service agreement with Quasar Media’.
Kyle was given a 14-day suspension during which he was required to ‘remedy the breach.’
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