Kyle Sandilands reveals cheeky text he send to Ben Fordham to break the news he lost ratings war

KIIS FM’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show has earned the most listeners for any Aussie radio show in history, toppling 2GB rival Ben Fordham in the latest radio ratings. 

And Kyle Sandilands rubbed salt in Fordham’s wounds by sending him a very cheeky text message on Tuesday morning.

The radio shock jock told Daily Mail Australia he broke the ratings news to the talkback radio star via text before the results were even released. 

Kyle Sandilands has revealed the wild text message he sent to rival Ben Fordham to break the news he lost the radio ratings war before the results were even released 

The radio shock jocks gained 2.1 per cent share of the breakfast audience jumping to 14.9 per cent, while Fordham slipped to 14.8 per cent, down 2.1 per cent from the last survey. 

‘I sent Ben a text prior to the results being out in the public and said, “Sorry, Benny!” Kyle said. And he wrote back, “How did you go?” And I said, “Just a little bit better than you”.’ 

A stunned Jackie chimed in: ‘Did he not know? Were you the one to tell him?

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

Jackie added: ‘Ben’s always pretty gracious. He’ll always send a text and congratulate us when it happens.’

‘Yeah, he’s alright,’ Kyle said. ‘He’ll be crying tonight in his wife’s arms and his wife listens to us as well, so what hope has he got?’

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

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

Kyle and Jackie O, who told Daily Mail Australia they were ‘speechless’ by their results, attracted 818,000 listeners in the latest survey, while their podcast was downloaded 1.7 million times in October alone. 

KIIS FM’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show has earned the most listeners for any Aussie radio show in history, toppling 2GB rival Ben Fordham in the latest radio ratings 

‘The huge jump we’ve made left us speechless; we didn’t see it coming,’ said Jackie.

‘Radio is still growing and we’re thrilled that people keep jumping on board,’ Kyle added.

‘We always want to grow the audience,’ he continued. ‘We’ve grown the audience over 50 per cent 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 for an ‘escape’ from the news and stresses of daily life.

‘They’re on the way to work, they’re stuck in peak-hour traffic, and they just want to laugh and listen to something that’s fun,’ she explained.

‘We do serious things as well,’ Kyle clarified. ‘We do a lot of givebacks to people that are struggling, there’s a lot more to it than you normally read in the headlines.’

‘We always want to grow the audience,’ Kyle told Daily Mail Australia about the win. ‘We’ve grown the audience over 50 per cent in the last five years

Discussing the edgier tone of The Kyle and Jackie O Show compared to other FM shows, Kyle said they try to tap into ‘what people really think’ and also focus on promoting different viewpoints from all sides. 

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

‘He tells me things in the hope that I’ll learn; I just wish he’ll grow up one day and realise that just because the ABC says something doesn’t mean it’s true.

‘But we all get on well, there’s no hate and everyone’s got a voice. One of our staff thinks alien exists!’

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

‘It’s a tricky time for everybody, I think,’ Jackie added.

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

‘But I also think people do feel it’s going too much in the other direction and so they don’t want a show that is completely 100 per cent woke. They want the balance and they want the discussion.

‘They like hearing those open discussions where we’re all honest and not worried about saying the wrong thing, but just saying exactly what we’re thinking and what we’re questioning.’

The Kyle and Jackie O Show enjoyed a surge in listeners in the latest ratings survey, claiming a 14.9 per cent share, up 2.1 per cent, while also attracting 818,000 listeners, up 80,000 from Survey 6. 

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

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

Jackie said the show’s listeners want ‘honest discussions’ and not something that’s ‘completely 100 per cent woke’

‘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, delivering stellar results for our advertisers.’

Kyle and Jackie recently swept the Australian Commercial Radio Awards, winning Best On-Air Team and Best Networked Program, among other trophies. The pair were also inducted into the hall of fame. 

Last month, Kyle blasted a Sydney newspaper for ‘manufacturing’ a story about advertisers threatening to pull out of The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

The Daily Telegraph was pushing an anti-Kyle agenda at the time, claiming there had been 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 – which the publication called an ‘ableist’ slur – and only a handful of disability activists on Twitter complained about it.

After the newspaper upped its attack by running a story about brands ‘reviewing their contracts’ with KIIS FM, Sandilands unleashed live on air.

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

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

The pair were recently inducted into the Australian Commercial Radio Awards’ hall of fame

Source: | Dailymail.co.uk