Kyle Sandilands launched his new $99-a-year subscription radio show Kyle Sandilands Live on Monday morning amid persistent technical glitches, dead air, and an expletive-laden outburst live on air. The radio broadcaster grew increasingly frustrated as his team struggled with severe audio issues during the debut broadcast.
At one point, Sandilands berated staff on air over microphone problems. "When I ask a question, am I supposed to hear her answer? Why do you not understand how to use the microphone?" he fumed.
Following several seconds of dead air, Sandilands informed listeners that he was leaving the room for a second. Newsreader Brooklyn Ross urged him not to yell at employees, but Sandilands shot back, "I'm not yelling!"
Microphones picked up Sandilands storming into another room where staff were working to resolve the technical issues. "Need to hear what we're putting onto the radio," he said, before launching into a profanity-filled complaint. "Bring it in here on a f***ing Apple TV... f**k me dead."
The rant came to an abrupt halt when Sandilands noticed a high-profile guest had walked in. "Oh, hi Premier! S***, the Premier's just arrived," he said after seeing New South Wales Premier Chris Minns enter the room.
Comments on Radio Executives and Station Move
Despite the rocky start, Sandilands used the broadcast to reveal details about newsreader Brooklyn Ross moving from KIIS to the new show following his departure from ARN. Ross finished at his previous employer on Friday, and Sandilands claimed his own personal intervention was required to bring Ross onto the show days later. "Guess what, I made that happen with one phone call," Sandilands told Ross.
Sandilands then targeted radio executives while boasting about his influence in the industry. "Forget your CEOs, your heads of content, they're peasants. Above them are the chairmen. I hang out in that world," he said.
Sandilands claimed he warned Ross' former employers that he would publicly call them out if they blocked Ross from appearing. "I'll sit him behind me with an ARN sticker over his mouth and tell everyone that's KIIS FM not allowing him to broadcast," he said.
Listener Feedback and Audio Complaints
During the broadcast, several subscribed listeners left comments begging for the audio problems to be fixed. "The audio is terrible when you cross to the ensemble," one fan wrote, referring to staff members Bruno Bouchet and Dean Royston.
Another subscriber wrote, "I'll pay an extra $100 so we don't have to hear Bruno." Someone else commented, "Bruno and Mayo need to lay off the mics, it's too loud and everyone gets super quiet. Other than that, the mics are perfect!"
One viewer stated that Bouchet's microphone was causing the problem. "Bruno's mic is causing the problem when he holds it down," they said. "It takes the audio from everyone else and you just hear background noise and it's very loud for the listeners on that mic. Probably not loud for Kyle. That's why they're screaming into the mic but for us it's actually loud and over modulated."
Many fans expressed excitement about Sandilands returning to air despite the technical difficulties. "Welcome back Kyle and gang, has been a long time coming and so overdue!" one fan wrote, adding, "Nothing better than having you back."
Another listener noted, "So excited you are back on air and the technical stuff you'll iron out. We need less of the smut otherwise it loses its shock value and just becomes boring. Less of the ensemble, more of Brooklyn and Kyle. Also, any music? You need to break it up a bit." A third fan commented, "Love you guys, so excited you are back but you need some constructive feedback."
Music Choices and Host History
Nearly an hour into the broadcast, Sandilands played the show's first song and declared he was free to select music based on personal taste rather than programming demands. He complained about being forced to play the "unlistenable music record companies shove down our throats" during his commercial radio career.
His opening track was producer Josh Fawaz's dance remix of Madonna's "Like a Prayer", a song that has attracted attention following reports artificial intelligence was used in its creation. Ten minutes later, Sandilands played a second song, a dance remix of Bryan Adams' classic "Summer of '69", which has also sparked online debate over potential AI use.
The launch marks a dramatic new chapter for Sandilands after his long-running partnership with Jackie 'O' Henderson collapsed earlier this year. Their professional relationship deteriorated after Sandilands publicly criticized Henderson on air as "off with the fairies" and "unfocused", leading to the end of their partnership with ongoing tensions remaining between them.
