Kyle Sandilands' new $99-a-year subscription show had a disastrous debut on Monday, but fans are now speculating whether it was all planned. The 55-year-old radio shock jock was plagued with audio issues during his first live broadcast, and some listeners believe the chaos was a publicity stunt.
The conspiracy theory gained traction on Tuesday when the second Kyle Sandilands Live show appeared to go off without a hitch.
"I listened to both shows, yesterday's stuff ups were so bad it was almost comical and every journalist in Australia was writing about it," one person said. "So obvious yesterday's 'mess ups' were planned for free air time from hating networks," another added. "The show is too perfect today and running so smoothly," a third noted.
"How could one of the most experienced audio people in Australia make such a stuff up on the first day? The whole thing was orchestrated by Sandilands as a publicity stunt, I reckon," someone else wrote. Others praised Sandilands and his ensemble cast, largely made up of his former KIIS FM crew, for improving their audio quality on the second day. "Sounds great today!" one wrote, while another added: "Looks so good and sounds great. Well done everyone." A third commented, "No echoes and sound volume is pitched perfect between all microphones," and someone else wrote, "Audio sounds so good so far and video is buttery smooth."
Monday's chaotic launch
Sandilands' much-hyped subscription radio venture got off to a rocky start on Monday morning, with technical glitches, awkward silences and an expletive-laden outburst unfolding live on air. The presenter appeared increasingly frustrated as his team battled persistent audio issues during the launch, at one point berating staff as the broadcast struggled to get underway.
"When I ask a question, am I supposed to hear her answer? Why do you not understand how to use the microphone?" he fumed. After several seconds of dead air, Sandilands told listeners he was "leaving the room for a second," prompting newsreader Brooklyn Ross to urge him not to yell at employees. "I'm not yelling!" Sandilands shot back.
Microphones then picked up Sandilands storming into another room where staff were working as he tried to resolve the technical problems. "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*** me dead." The rant stopped abruptly when Sandilands noticed NSW Premier Chris Minns had entered the room. "Oh, hi Premier! S***, the Premier's just arrived," he said.
Brooklyn Ross's move revealed
Despite the rocky launch, Sandilands used the show to reveal details of newsreader Brooklyn Ross's move from KIIS to the new venture following his departure from ARN. According to Sandilands, Ross finished at his previous employer on Friday and required Sandilands' personal intervention to appear alongside him days later. "Guess what, I made that happen with one phone call," Sandilands told Ross.
The broadcaster then took aim at radio executives while boasting about his industry influence. "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's former employer that if they prevented him from appearing on the show, he would publicly call them out: "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."
