Normally, on survey days, a group of senior management and talent, is huddled in a room waiting in strained anticipation for the email from GfK to arrive.
When the email finally hits, the body language is unmistakeable. Sometimes it’s sheer jubilation, other times despair but most times, shades of grey in between.
Tuesday’s Survey 4 results for ARN’s KIIS106.5 should have been one of those rare days of jubilation. After all, Kyle and Jackie O had just knocked the 2GB Breakfast show off the number one perch it had occupied for 20 years.
But there was barely a bod in ARN’s North Ryde bunker to hoot or holler, hug or bump elbows. Sydney was in lockdown.
ARN’s Chief Content Officer, Duncan Campbell, who was instrumental in bringing Kyle and Jackie O to the network eight years ago was alone in his home office with just the voice of Alan Logan on the phone for company.
Campbell describes how it unfolded: “We were waiting for the results to come through via email. I opened it up and said, ‘Oh, Wow!’ I said, ‘Hang on, let me just double check that.’ And I said, ‘Oh, number one in Sydney breakfast overall!!’ I went and looked at it again and saw 15.5 and double checked it against 2GB’s 13.3. Okay. Well, they’ve done it!!!! ”
No leaps of excitement? No dancing around the room? Not even a subdued fist pump?
“No, nothing,” says Campbell. “It was just me and Alan on the phone. And we’re not the most excitable people, anyway.
“As I was getting the other results and sort of sat back a bit, I thought, well, it’s actually really significant day today, because for Kyle and Jackie O, particularly it’s been it’s been their ambition to not to have to say, “number one FM” to just say “number one Sydney breakfast.
“I think people believe that they don’t care about the ratings. They get paid all that money. But the fact is, they do care about it a lot. And I spoke to them about it today and he’s over the moon. Kyle’s like a kid in a candy store, to be honest. He’s really happy about it. So, it’s a big deal for them today. And it’s also a big deal for us. It’s a big deal for radio because that’s been a race that’s been happening for so long. And the question has been, could the Kyle and Jackie O beat 2GB breakfast? That’s been answered today.”
2GB’s Ben Fordham, who was a guest at Kyle’s recent 50th birthday party was gracious in defeat and told reporters, “Congrats to Kyle and Jackie. When the results came through, I contacted them straight away to say well done. They’ve worked hard over decades and deserve the win. We have no right to expect the number one spot. We’re new in the shift and have to work hard to earn the respect of the audience. But again, today is Kyle and Jackie’s day. They can enjoy a champagne or two on their holidays.”
Over at Nova Entertainment, Content and Marketing Director, Paul Jackson, who, after Survey 3 predicted that K&J would topple 2GB at some stage, was also generous with his praise.
“I think in moments like this, you can only say to Duncan and Derek (Bargwanna) and the team over there, well done, because those are pretty special numbers. And Kyle and Jackie O is a juggernaut of a show. It was when it was on 2Day and it is at KIIS. And that 12.9, they got in the last survey, was their highest number. So, then to get a 15.5 in a flash and have a new highest number – that’s like setting a new world record and then some. That’s extremely impressive.
“I mean, if you’re working in a business as long as I have in many places, I know you don’t see that too often. And to be fair, tyou have to highly commend anyone on that level of performance. And Kyle Sandilands is obviously a sublime radio broadcaster who knows exactly what he’s doing and how to hold an audience,” says Jackson.
The last word goes to Duncan Campbell, “If Kyle and Jackie O had beaten 2GB when they were at 2DayFM, that would’ve been different. But they did it at ARN. So even though we can’t claim any credit for that show because we didn’t create it – we effectively bought the show – they’ve been able to achieve their best results while at ARN. That says a lot for the network.”
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