Kyle Sandilands and Jacqui O at Kyle’s 50th birthday party.instagram
Will his bosses at KIIS FM’s parent company ARN ever be brave enough to cut him loose? Indeed,could they even afford to?
This week,a senior advertising executive shared a fascinating story with me about Sandilands’ power within the radio business from his days on Southern Cross Austereo’s 2Day FM. One of the station’s biggest advertisers once pulled $2 million worth of ads,upset over Sandilands mocking their promos.
“While the station’s management wasn’t happy about it,Kyle refused to stop. Then another client soon picked up the airtime;Kyle was safe,” the executive explained. “ As long as Kyle is bringing in the bucks,he’ll be on air,regardless of his critics.”
Sandilands has been getting away with scandals for years. In 2009 the Kyle and Jackie O’s “Lie Detector” segment turned into a disaster when a 14-year-old girl – dragged on the 2Day FM radio show by her mother – angrily revealed she had been raped when she was just 12. Sandilands responded on air by saying:“Right ... is that the only[sexual] experience you’ve had?”
Sandilands later apologised and was reprimanded before being briefly taken off-air. It wasn’t long before he was back in hot water,this time upsetting the Jewish community after claiming Magda Szubanski could lose weight by being in a concentration camp. His bosses suspended him and Sandilands issued another apology.
Sandilands has developed an audience from his outlandish behaviour.
In 2011,a dozen advertisers,including Holden,withdrew sponsorship of Sandilands’ radio show after he launched a withering personal attack on a journalist he called “a fat bitter thing” and a “piece of shit”,threatening to “hunt her down” for reporting on the poor audience reaction to his dud TV project. Later he issued yet another – albeit belated – apology.
In 2019,Sandilands made an unprecedented eight-minute apology at the top of his popular radio show after offending religious groups by saying the Virgin Mary was a liar who got “chock-a-blocked” behind a camel shed.
Industry watchdog the Australian Communications and Media Authority,the regulatory body governing radio licences,can only investigate after listeners have first lodged protests with the radio station and are unsatisfied with their response. By Friday,only one complaint had been referred to ACMA regarding Sandilands’ comments.
Rather,it is the advertisers who truly hold Sandilands’ fate in their hands.
The radio host becomes enraged when his rivals don't answer his calls while live on air.
Several major Sydney radio media buyers,who spend millions of dollars securing radio airtime for major Australian brands,were in agreement this week that Sandilands’ show was considered a “high-risk environment” among some clients,especially “blue chip brands” keen to avoid any on-air controversy.
But despite this,an analysis of advertisers over the past few weeks reveals a fascinating roll call of brands – some of them clearly in the “blue chip” category,willing to run that risk,including Vodafone,Bunnings,Chemist Warehouse,Vittoria Coffee,GIO,AAMI,NAB,McDonald’s,Telstra,Uber,Jetstar,Coles,Bankwest,Woolies and Kia.
Sandilands’ show has even got a sponsorship deal with theDaily Mail news outlet,which is constantly featuring stories on Sandilands,his every outrage providing opportunistic clickbait for the mass market website.
And so,after decades at the top,Sandilands,now 51,remains the undisputed king of Sydney FM radio,commanding a huge audience every morning,including the largest share – by far – of impressionable 10- to 17-year-olds.
Kyle and Jackie O reflect on their 20-year careers.Supplied
We can only imagine what that demographic would have made of Sandilands’ – about which I wrote last week – from monkeypox being the “big gay disease”,catching thrush off “dirty girls”,graphic and detailed descriptions of group sex acts,describing two female lovers as “blonde rats” who were like “filling up” petrol tanks and openly talking about procuring illegal drugs.
ARN management has stood by Sandilands,feebly defending his vernacular was not to “everyone’s taste”.
Sandilands claims he was just joking. But a considerable number of his listeners weren’t laughing. One only has to read the many reader comments and social media backlash to see that.
Industry estimates have Sandilands being solely responsible for about $20 million worth of advertising and sponsorship a year to the station. Indirectly,he is responsible for millions more in advertising revenue in other timeslots and other revenue streams,including social media,because of KIISFM’s huge breakfast numbers.
And as a result,the seemingly untouchable Sandilands remains ARN’s most sacred cash cow.