Kyle Sandilands has been sacked by ARN Media and his top-rating Kyle and Jackie O Show cancelled, but he says will fight to save his $100m contract.
ARN Media said in a statement on Wednesday it had issued a notice of termination of contract to Sandilands and his company Quasar Media, over a dispute that began with an on-air argument last month between Sandilands and his co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson.
“As a result, the Kyle and Jackie O show will no longer be presented,” the statement sent to the ASX said.
It said two weeks ago ARN had provided written notice to Sandilands and Quasar “stating that it considered Mr Sandilands’ behaviour during the broadcast of 20 February 2026 to constitute serious misconduct and a breach of ARN’s services agreement with Quasar Media, under which Mr Sandilands presents the Kyle and Jackie O show.
“Mr Sandilands was given 14 days to remedy the breach.”
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailThe deadline for Sandilands’ response was midnight on Tuesday.
In an emotional statement early on Wednesday in response to the sacking, Sandilands said ARN’s decision to terminate his 10-year contract was a breach of his rights and the Kiis FM broadcaster would have to “pay the legal consequences”.
“I don’t accept it,” he said.
“My lawyers told them last week this would be invalid. And guess what? It is.
“ARN knew exactly what they were getting when they signed my deal. They’ve worked with me for over a decade. They knew how I work, they knew the show, and they were happy to pay for it – because I delivered. Number one ratings. Year after year. Hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for their business. I held up my end. I always have.”
Sandilands has apologised to Henderson for his nasty dressing down and has accused the ARN of not running a “genuine process” when they suspended him.
The stage is now set for a legal battle between ARN and both presenters, who signed separate 10-year contracts until 2034 worth $100m each to present the show.
Henderson indicated earlier she would take legal action and has alleged there is widespread misinformation about her departure from the show.
Sandilands alleged ARN was looking for an opportunity to cancel the show and seized on Henderson’s distress after an on-air dispute about her love of astrology as an excuse.
“They didn’t want to fix this,” he said in the lengthy statement. “They thought they saw a chance to get out of the contract they signed with me a year ago, and they ran with it.”
ARN’s actions have been widely interpreted as opportunistic as the high-profile program has become less profitable in recent years due to an advertising downturn, a grassroots campaign against its sexist content and increasing pressure from the broadcasting regulator.
When the contract was signed in 2024, ARN planned to spread the unprecedented $200m price tag by nationalising the Kyle and Jackie O Show to other markets.
The broadcaster believed it was getting value as the pair boasted an audience of 1.5 million in Sydney alone.
But the initial expansion to Melbourne failed and the rollout was halted.
Last year the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) found two segments – on Melbourne’s Kiis 1011 and Sydney’s Kiis 1065 in June 2024 – included “sustained and vulgar graphic sexualised descriptions” which were a breach of broadcasting standards.
Activist group Mad Fucking Witches ran a successful campaign that coincided with the expansion to Melbourne, accusing the show of normalising “violent misogyny”. Advertisers cancelled their bookings in droves.
This week, after multiple breaches, the Acma imposed additional licence conditions on any Kiis FM radio program hosted by Sandilands and/or Henderson. The duo must not air strong sexual content for the next five years or ARN Media could face penalties as serious as the cancellation of the radio station’s licence.
