The Australian Radio Network’s (ARN) Chief Content Officer Duncan Campbell says momentum is starting to build for The Kyle and Jackie O Show in Melbourne after a tumultuous launch in 2023.
Despite the show only recording a modest increase in audience share in the second radio survey of 2025, Campbell said it marks the beginning of a long but promising turnaround.
“The show’s content is now consistently good,” Campbell told Mediaweek. “It’s back to some of their best stuff. And so if they can maintain that, then I think we can build momentum in Melbourne.”
Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson’s Sydney breakfast show, which is networked to Melbourne on KIIS 101.1, lifted from a 5.1% to a 5.8% share in GfK Survey 2.
While a modest rise, Campbell believes it points to signs of progress for a show that has faced intense scrutiny and media backlash since its syndication from Sydney.
“We did what we said we wanted to do there, which was get some cume and then convert that cume into share,” Campbell said. “It’s not a big jump, but it’s a nice uplift.”
Campbell acknowledged the missteps taken during the Melbourne launch last year. “The decision to head down that content road was not a good one,” he admitted. “But they’ve come back from that. It’s going to take time for that to wash out.”
He continued: “Kyle acknowledges that the launch last year wasn’t as successful as we had hoped, and we’ve made a lot of changes. He’s also made changes to the show’s content.”
The show’s early challenges were compounded by a “triple whammy” of misaligned content, negative media sentiment, and the rising popularity of Jason Hawkins and Lauren Phillips on Nova 100.
“Melbourne’s not going to be easy for us, and it’s frustrating,” Campbell said. “But I think good content, quality content, always shines.”
Despite the teething issues in Melbourne, Campbell emphasised that the team is not concerned about alienating Sydney audiences. “They’re still commanding a 12.3% share, a long way ahead of anyone else on FM,” he said.
Campbell continued: “I’ve always said that, you know, the show is one that when you get familiar with and once you start to listen to it becomes very hard not to turn off. So that’s what we’re trying to achieve at the moment. It’s a long road back, a long road to success, but we’re confident we can get there. “
In fact, The Kyle and Jackie O Show celebrated a significant milestone this survey, marking their 50th consecutive survey as the #1 FM breakfast show in Sydney.
Nova 100’s Jase & Lauren.
The power of the GOLD brand
While KIIS 101.1 is in recovery mode, ARN’s other Melbourne property, GOLD 104.3, is leading the charge.
Christian O’Connell has retained his #1 FM breakfast position with a 10.8% share and helped GOLD secure the #1 overall FM position in the market.
“He’s such a great broadcaster,” said Campbell. “He’s just a unique broadcaster, and I think we’re lucky to have him in this country.”
He also pointed to the broader success of the GOLD brand across the country. In Perth, 96FM (soon to be rebranded under the GOLD umbrella) also recorded a solid result with a share of 15.2%.
While, in Brisbane, where Campbell says the network has been “putting in a sustained effort”, KIIS 97.3 achieved the biggest overall growth in market, recording a share of 11.1%.
“In Brisbane it’s a tight market, very tight,” he said. “It’s been a hard slog, and we’re starting to see some results”.
Adelaide is another bright spot, with MIX 102.3 leading the market on a 14.0% share. Campbell highlighted the breakout performance of Hayley & Max in Breakfast, predicting and the show would soon hit #1.
Hayley & Max
Redundancies
While ARN recently confirmed a major business overhaul including sweeping redundancies, Campbell remains optimistic about the future of audio, particularly as the lines between radio, digital, and podcasting continue to blur.
“Radio has always been very resilient because it has continually evolved and adapted,” he said. “It has a magic to it, the connection listeners have with personalities on air, whether it be journalists, announcers, or sidekicks. That personal connection has never gone away.”
He believes the next frontier for radio is multiplatform content distribution: “It goes to air live, then it lives in podcast form, and then we repackage it to give it a third life. Whether it’s through our own Netflix-style platform or via Seven, Nine or Network 10, that’s very much part of the future.”
Campbell also stressed the importance of visual content: “Filming the podcasts, filming the content on and off air, then cutting it up and repurposing it, that will breathe more life into radio because it gives it an extra dimension.”