Dave Hughes' ruthless stab at Kyle Sandilands
<p>Dave Hughes has taken a verbal flamethrower to Kyle Sandilands and his less-than-rockstar status in the Melbourne radio market, leaving viewer and commentators stunned.</p>
<p>The popular TV and radio star, comedian and professional truth-bomber recently sat down with the <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/dave-hughes-revealed-why-he-has-no-empathy-for-kyle-sandilands/news-story/0d34b5e8e106e7b78772b42d6d3b4bf7" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Herald Sun</em></a> and, in between deep sighs of relief at no longer being beholden to radio ratings, delivered some choice words about the industry, his axed show and, of course, his long-time Sydney rival, Sandliands.</p>
<p>Hughesy, whose breakfast show Hughesy, Ed & Erin was unceremoniously booted off the airwaves last year, made it clear that he’s not losing any sleep over the fate of The Kyle and Jackie O Show’s Melbourne expansion woes.</p>
<p>“And now I think that we’re finding that out. It’s just habits. You can be a rock star in one city and the other city cannot give a flying f**k about you because they didn’t have the habit for you,” Hughes explained.</p>
<p>And if you were wondering whether Hughesy might have a shred of sympathy for Sandilands, let’s clear that up right now: "I don’t really have any empathy because Kyle doesn’t have any empathy for anyone. If he’s on air he’ll just slag everyone off, including me. So I’ve got no empathy at all. I couldn’t care less to be honest.”</p>
<p>In fact, Hughesy’s concern seems to be exclusively reserved for the shareholders, because, as he so eloquently put it: “They are the ones who are bloody bleeding.”</p>
<p>Sandilands, of course, had confidently predicted that he and Jackie O would dominate Melbourne radio by the end of 2024. That prediction aged about as well as milk left out in the sun, as the final ratings for last year told a harsh truth: The Kyle and Jackie O Show finished in sixth place, with a 5% market share – trailing far behind Jase and Lauren from Nova, who soared with an 11.5% share. To put it in perspective, Kyle and Jackie O lost 24,000 listeners in Melbourne. That’s a lot of people collectively saying, “Yeah, nah.”</p>
<p>Of course, in their homeland of Sydney, the duo remains a powerhouse, finishing the year with a strong 13.5% audience share. But in Melbourne? It’s a different story – a story that Hughesy is gleefully watching unfold, popcorn in hand.</p>
<p>Beyond the Kyle-bashing, Hughesy also took a swing at the entire radio ratings system, calling it out as nothing more than an elaborate magic trick.</p>
<p>“When the ratings work for you, it’s like ‘this is a great system’ and when they don’t you say ‘this system is broken,’” he quipped. “It’s all smoke and mirrors, basically.”</p>
<p>And with that, Hughesy rides off into the sunset, free from the shackles of radio ratings, leaving Kyle Sandilands to wrestle with his Melbourne flop. One thing’s for sure – if Hughesy ever returns to radio, we know who won’t be getting a sympathy card.</p>
