Axed KIIS hosts have the last laugh in ratings survey, but one station continues to dominate
Axed KIIS hosts Will McMahon and Woody Whitelaw have had the last laugh in the latest GfK radio ratings, but another station continues to dominate despite a ratings drop.
The Will & Woody Show were one of only two KIIS daytime shows that managed a spike in the ratings released on Thursday, snagging an extra 0.3 per cent share of Sydney’s market for the drive slot, totalling 9.3 per cent.
Will McMahon and Woody Whitelaw will depart KIIS at the end of 2026. Instagram/@willandwoody
That’s a lift of about 14,000 listeners – not too shabby for a show that was just dropped.
The victory comes almost a month to the day since McMahon and Whitelaw announced they’d be departing KIIS at the end of the year, as ARN promotes a ‘refreshed’ lineup.
“We are devastated we won’t be continuing to do what we truly love next year and will sorely miss hearing the stories of everyone who contributed to the show,” they said in a statement at the time.
“It was always the listeners who made the show, so we are deeply thankful to you all. We are also incredibly grateful to ARN for allowing us to live out our dream for the last 8 years.”
“Guess we’ll now have to finally figure out how to make LinkedIn profiles,” they added.
The top drive ratings went to Smooth FM 95.3, which has been quietly dominating the Sydney market for the last two months.
The easy-listening NOVA station broke the record for the biggest audience in Australian radio history last month, seemingly proving Sydney listeners want more music and less talk.
It remained in the overall top spot for Sydney this month, beating out 2GB, but it was a different story in Melbourne.
Smooth FM’s Sydney Breakfast program hosted by Bogart Torelli was second most popular behind 2GB’s Ben Fordham again this month. Instagram/@smoothFM
3AW dominated the overall ratings by a healthy margin at 13.4 per cent, despite an 0.7 per cent drop since last week, trailed by GOLD 104.3 and Smooth FM 91.5 in the second and third slots respectively.
But while GOLD 104.3 lost about 32,000 listeners over the last month, Smooth FM 91.5’s audience has only been growing.
4BH 1116 took the top spot in Brisbane, 5MMM was in the lead in Adelaide, and NOVA 93.7 absolutely dominated the Perth market.
Kyle and Jackie O’s replacements have big shoes to fill
A huge question hangs over the next few rounds of ratings as KIIS FM debuts its new breakfast lineup in Sydney next month.
Dr Chris Brown, Amy Gerard and Jack Charles will hit the airwaves for the first time on Monday, November 9 in the slot previously held by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson.
Dr Chris Brown, Amy Gerard and Jack Charles were recently announced as the new KIIS Breakfast Sydney hosts. Supplied
The former co-hosts dominated the Sydney breakfast ratings for years with the Kyle and Jackie O Show and KIIS 106.5 has been haemorrhaging listeners since their exit in March, losing another 55,000 this ratings cycle.
Brown, Gerard and Charles have big shoes to fill, and it won’t be easy to get back to the top.
2GB currently holds the top spot in Sydney’s breakfast ratings with a 13.9 per cent market share, while Smooth FM 95.3 is in second place with 11.8 per cent.
Only time will tell if ARN’s new brand-safe, family-friendly lineup will be able to recreate the ratings dominance the network once enjoyed.
