The dynamic radio duo of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson have reached a troubling low in their broadcasting journey in Melbourne.
In a striking turn of events, their show has recorded its worst ratings since its inception in the city two years ago, wrapping up 2025 on a notably disappointing note. With an audience share of just 5 percent for the eighth and final ratings survey of the year, released on Tuesday morning, this outcome marks a repeat of their dismal performance from the previous year's last survey—though they attracted 1,000 fewer total listeners this time around.
This year has been particularly challenging for the pair, who are bound by a staggering $200 million contract over ten years with their network, KIIS, and parent company ARN Media. The situation has become so dire that ARN has had to employ multiple censors to monitor the content produced by Sandilands and Henderson, ensuring compliance with the regulations governing radio broadcasting. Alarmingly, the duo has breached these decency standards a dozen times throughout 2025 alone.
Compounding their struggles, the poor ratings have coincided with a robust campaign against them led by the activist group Mad F---ing Witches, leading to a significant decline in ARN’s advertising revenue since the show expanded to Melbourne in April 2024. In light of these challenges, ARN is reconsidering its strategy regarding the national rollout of The Kyle and Jackie O Show, which was initially a major factor in justifying the hosts' hefty paychecks.
In Brisbane, ARN has decided to reinstate the previously canceled breakfast show trio, Robin, Kip & Corey, for 2026, while also welcoming former Nova and Triple J personalities Ben Harvey and Liam Stapleton to Adelaide. Notably, Sandilands and Henderson's show will not air in these markets.
While KIIS’s overall audience share in Melbourne stands at a disappointing 5.4 percent compared to rival networks, ARN’s other station, Gold, has outperformed significantly, capturing a remarkable 13.3 percent share and securing its position as the top FM station, only slightly trailing behind the enduring market leader, AM talkback station 3AW, which holds 13.9 percent.
In Sydney, SmoothFM finished 2025 as the leading station with a 13 percent market share, experiencing a rise of 1.6 points and surpassing 3AW’s sister station, Nine-owned 2GB, which saw a drop from 13.8 percent to 11.2 percent.
Nine, the parent company of this publication, explored potential offers for its radio division in 2025 but has yet to finalize any agreements. Meanwhile, ABC Radio Melbourne wrapped up the year with a 6.5 percent share, showing a slight improvement of 0.2 percentage points from the previous survey, with breakfast hosts Sharnelle Vella and Bob Murphy concluding the year strongly at 7.8 percent.
The final survey period for 2025 took place between October 5 and December 13.
