{"id":15362,"date":"2025-07-23T07:02:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T07:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/15362\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T07:02:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T07:02:10","slug":"arn-holds-off-on-national-kyle-and-jackie-o-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/15362\/","title":{"rendered":"ARN holds off on national Kyle and Jackie O expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Kyle & Jackie O Show may have had a bumpy start in Melbourne, but their latest ratings suggest some ground is finally being made. The KIIS 101.1 breakfast show, simulcast from Sydney, showed signs of upward movement, adding 0.5 points to reach a 5.6% share in the latest radio ratings survey, the 4th for 2025.<\/p>\n

While that\u2019s still some distance from Melbourne\u2019s FM leaders, it marks progress after what Kyle Sandilands<\/a> previously called a \u201cdisaster\u201d, echoing Australian Radio Network (ARN)<\/a> CEO Ciaran Davis\u2019 assessment.<\/p>\n

Despite Kyle\u2019s ambitions to take the show national, ARN is holding the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, look, I would say the majority of The Kyle & Jackie O Show\u2019s content is universally entertaining,\u201d said ARN Chief Strategy & Connections Officer Lauren Joyce<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a show that\u2019s absolutely tethered to the city it\u2019s produced in. I certainly think the show has potential beyond Sydney and Melbourne. We need the numbers to grow further in Melbourne before we\u2019d be ready to make any decisions about going anywhere else. So, do I think the show is universally entertaining? Yes. Are we planning to take the show into other markets at this point? No.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lauren Joyce<\/p>\n

It\u2019s GOLDEN in Melbourne<\/p>\n

In a more definitive win for ARN, GOLD104.3 has claimed the number one spot in Melbourne radio, ending 3AW\u2019s longstanding dominance. The network pulled a 12.1% share, up from 11.6% in the previous book. Meanwhile, 3AW fell to 11.9%, marking its second straight drop.<\/p>\n

Joyce credited the station\u2019s rise to the consistency and precision of the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re so, so pleased with the result and I\u2019m just so proud of content director Sue Carter and the team down there,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019ve worked really, really hard to get this result, and I think they\u2019ve paid so much attention to detail, it\u2019s been all the one percenters that have really added up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joyce continued: \u201cThe GOLD network isn\u2019t a flashy network. It\u2019s a place people come to belong. Every minute of content on that station is well thought through. I wouldn\u2019t necessarily describe it as old-school radio, but I would just say it\u2019s excellence in the attention to detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joyce believes the audience shift is also reflective of broader mood changes in the market.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is so much negative news in the world at the moment\u2026 I think audiences are fatigued by the negativity they\u2019re consuming,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen they come to GOLD or KIIS, they do so because they want a reprieve. So yes, I do think it represents a shift in what audiences are looking for at this moment in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

GOLD Network content director Sue Carter<\/p>\n

Sydney audience returns to KIIS<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in Sydney, Kyle & Jackie O have strengthened their grip on FM breakfast. Their share rose from 12.5% to 13.9%, extending their FM winning streak to 52 surveys in a row. In terms of reach, Joyce confirmed the show is pulling 1.15 million listeners just at breakfast. That expands to 1.7 million when you include the Hour of Power.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose 1.7 million people absolutely love them. They\u2019re not casual listeners, they\u2019re people who just can\u2019t switch off from the show. They\u2019re diehards, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Melbourne still presents challenges, Joyce said the team knows what they need to do. \u201cNova had a really great start to the year and shook the market up a little bit, but I think things have settled back down now, and Kyle and Jackie O\u2019s strength continues to prove itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still committed to Jonesy and Amanda<\/p>\n

Finally, Joyce addressed recent speculation surrounding GOLD101.7\u2019s Jonesy and Amanda potentially leaving ARN for rival network Souther Cross Austereo\u2019s (SCA) Triple M. As reported by Mediaweek, SCA has denied the move, and Joyce confirmed the veteran duo are in the final stages of negotiating a renewed contract with ARN.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, we\u2019re still very much committed to Jonesy and Amanda. I think today they had a relatively flat book, but they\u2019re still delivering a really solid show every single day. So, our belief in them hasn\u2019t wavered.\u201d<\/p>\n

A strong result with more to come<\/p>\n

Joyce noted the Melbourne market still has room to grow, but the signs are promising.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve known for a while that the cume we have pulled into the station are sticking around. We\u2019ve got a job to do on working hard against the rest of the cume. The station\u2019s still delivering just under a million cume per week. So yeah, it\u2019s not quite where we want it to be yet, but really pleased to see some growth there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep on top of the most important media, marketing, and agency news each day with the\u00a0Mediaweek\u00a0Morning Report\u00a0\u2013 delivered for free every morning to your inbox.<\/a><\/p>\n