Kyle Sandilands' longtime manager, Bruno Bouchet, has drawn concern from fans and listeners after admitting he slept at the studio while attempting to resolve ongoing technical difficulties with the broadcaster's new subscription venture, Kyle Sandilands Live. Bouchet, the Managing Director of King Kyle Group, appeared visibly fatigued during a Monday morning broadcast, struggling to stay awake and at times slurring his speech, prompting viewers to urge producers to allow him rest.
During the broadcast, executive producer Jaimee 'Mayo' Blazquez acknowledged the situation, stating she was looking for someone else familiar with the system so Bouchet could get some sleep. Sandilands, 55, lightheartedly commented, "He's here till he's dead!" to which Bouchet responded, "I'm a bit tired."
Listeners flooded the app's comments section with messages of worry, with some asking if someone could check on Bouchet and urging him to be sent home. Others expressed discomfort watching him in his state, emphasizing the need to prioritize his health.
The situation comes after Bouchet admitted last week to going without sleep while working on the development and launch of the service. "If everything went smoothly it would have been worth not sleeping and snorting Ritalin and everything like that, but it all went to s**t," he stated, a comment Sandilands pushed back against, attributing the issues to an inability to hear audio.
The latest difficulties follow a chaotic first week for the subscription platform. Technical failures forced producers to abandon Friday's broadcast entirely. In a video message, Blazquez and newsreader Brooklyn Ross apologized to subscribers for the major technical meltdown. They explained that after multiple failed attempts to get the show running, they decided to cancel the broadcast to avoid further frustrating listeners. Subscribers, who paid $99 annually, were assured that the team would spend the weekend fixing the issues.
The platform's debut episode on August 10 was marred by glitches, leading to an emergency shutdown shortly after its start. Sandilands and his crew acknowledged the rocky beginning, even humorously titling Tuesday's episode "Hopefully today's better..." Kyle Sandilands Live marks Sandilands' return to broadcasting following the conclusion of The Kyle & Jackie O Show on KIIS FM and his subsequent settlement with former employer ARN.