The $200m Kyle and Jackie O Show has been taken off the air and Kyle Sandilands accused of “serious misconduct” after Jackie Henderson told the Australian Radio Network she could no longer work with her on-air partner of 25 years.
“The Kiis breakfast show will be taken off-air effective immediately, with interim arrangements made for the show,” ARN said in a statement to the ASX.
Late on Tuesday, ARN said Henderson had given notice that she “cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands”. Her $100m contract, signed in 2023 for a decade of breakfast shows, has been terminated just two years in.
The network said it had also provided written notice to Sandilands stating that it considered his behaviour during the show “an act of serious misconduct which is in breach of ARN’s services agreement”.
ARN said Sandilands had been taken off air for 14 days, during which time he needed to “remedy” an alleged breach of its “services agreement” – and that, failing a remedy, his contract would end. It was unclear how Sandilands could remedy the breach.
Henderson has not presented the morning show on Kiis since an on-air spat on 20 February, in which Sandilands mocked her for her interest in astrology. Speculation over whether she would return to the show has since run rife, culminating with the shock announcement the highest-paid partnership in media was over.
ARN said: “Ms Henderson will cease to present the Kyle and Jackie O show. ARN has also offered to Ms Henderson the possibility of an alternative show on the ARN network”.
In 2023, Sydney’s Kiis 106.5 and Melbourne’s Kiis 101.1 offered Sandilands and Henderson a staggering $200m to continue presenting the number one breakfast show in Sydney, and extend it to Melbourne, for the next decade. The duo had been Australia’s most successful on-air pairing for more than 20 years, boasting an audience of 1.5 million.
The show has been a magnet for drama and has regularly been the subject of investigations by the media watchdog.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) last year considered taking enforcement action against the Kiis network for repeatedly airing vulgar and sexually explicit content despite multiple warnings.
Enforcement actions can include additional licence conditions, court-enforceable undertakings and, in rare cases, suspension or cancellation of a broadcaster’s licence.
An Acma investigation found a total of seven breaches of decency rules as well as breaches of the complaint handling rules across Sydney’s Kiis 106.5 and Melbourne’s Kiis 101.1, owned by the Australian Radio Network (ARN).
