With a $100 million contract on the line and a national expansion in tatters, the war between Kyle and ARN has reached breaking point.
Kyle Sandilands versus ARN is shaping up to be a battle for the ages.
The radio host released a statement on Tuesday pleading with ARN, the company that owns KIIS FM, to let him return to work.
“I want to be on air,” Kyle said in the statement. “I am asking ARN to do the right thing: honour our agreement and let me get back to doing what I do best — entertaining the people who have supported this show for more than two decades.”
Kyle is currently halfway through a 14-day suspension that ARN handed down on March 3.
The radio network said in a press release at the time that Kyle’s behaviour on air on February 20, when he had that big blow-up with Jackie O, was “an act of serious misconduct which is in breach of ARN’s services agreement with Quasar Media, under which Mr Sandilands presents The Kyle and Jackie O Show.”
It continued, “Mr Sandilands has been given 14 days to remedy this breach. If it is not remedied, ARN will terminate the services agreement with Quasar Media, and in that event Mr Sandilands will cease to present The Kyle and Jackie O Show.”
Why ARN may want to terminate Kyle’s contract
Kyle is the most famous broadcaster on Australian radio, and the breakfast show he co-hosts is number one on the FM dial in Sydney, so why would ARN want to get rid of him?
It all has to do with that $100 million contract he signed with ARN in 2023, which is meant to keep him on air until the end of 2034.
According to insiders, ARN simply can’t afford to honour the deal.
The radio network inked the contract with the intention of rolling out The Kyle and Jackie O Show nationally, meaning they wouldn’t have to pay for local breakfast shows in each city.
That plan went to shit though when the show bombed in Melbourne, with ARN then putting national rollout plans on hold.
It meant ARN had to pay Kyle and Jackie O’s massive salaries, plus fund local breakfast shows in all cities apart from Sydney and Melbourne.
To make matters worse, advertisers starting pulling out of The Kyle and Jackie O Show thanks to a campaign run by a group called ‘Mad F**king Witches (MFW)’.
The group, determined to remove Kyle from radio, encourages its members to call the show’s advertisers and to “simply ask them to stop funding the hate”.
The group claims to have “already had more than 540 advertisers withdraw” from sponsoring The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
All of these factors combined have severely damaged ARN’s bottom line and have resulted in hundreds of staff being let go in a bid to cut costs.
In 2025, ARN reported that its metro radio revenue dropped by 16.1 per cent, or $28.3 million, with the company making a net profit after tax of just $6.1 million.
If ARN does allow Kyle back on air after his 14-day suspension, not only will it have to continue to pay him $10 million a year until 2034, but it will be doing so while struggling to attract new advertisers.
“So if Kyle comes back, and MFW are probably on alert waiting for that to happen, the revenue continues to decline and the outlook looks pretty dire,” Irene Hulme, a former radio executive who now hosts the Game Changers Radio podcast, said on the most recent episode.
Ms Hulme’s co-host, Craig Bruce, added, “I think what ARN are saying (to Kyle) is that you’re in breach (of contract) and that has allowed us to pull the trigger, a once in a million trigger, to get this show off our books.”
He continued, “ it’s about the revenue … the business of this show makes no sense.”
Mr Bruce said it’s possible ARN may just give Kyle and Jackie O a settlement to disappear for good in a bid to lure advertisers back to the station.
“ Let’s say it’s (a settlement) $20-$30 million each … I think ARN are betting that they can recover that money within a couple of years,” Mr Bruce said on Game Changers Radio.
“I think they’re saying, ‘we can’t sustain this and you’ve given us an out … You have breached (this contract) because of the inappropriate nature of the content, and we are gonna start again.’”
Could Kyle and Jackie O reunite on KIIS FM
News.com.au’s Mary Madigan reported on Tuesday that Kyle and Jackie O started speaking again late last week and are now feeling “super friendly” towards each other.
Fans of the duo are now clinging to hope that the pair can sort out their differences, even though ARN said back on March 3 that Jackie had told them she “can’t continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands”.
“Accordingly, ARN has terminated the services agreement with Henderson Media Pty Ltd, under which Ms Henderson presents The Kyle and Jackie O Show,” the statement said, adding that it had offered her the “possibility of an alternative show on the ARN network”.
Even if Kyle and Jackie do bury the hatchet, Mr Bruce said fans should not expect to hear the pair together on KIIS FM given she no longer has a contract.
“Even if it was the case that they wanted to do radio together, it can’t be on KIIS unless Jackie renegotiates her deal,” he said.
“It’s unlikely that if Kyle comes back that Jackie is coming back with him,” Mr Bruce said. “So if Kyle is coming back, he’s coming back to The Kyle Sandilands Show and then pick your co-host.”
Likelihood of joining another radio network
Let’s say Kyle and Jackie O do kiss and makeup, and both get a lucrative settlement from ARN.
Could we then see them get picked up by a rival radio network, like Nova or Southern Cross Austereo?
“My guess is that you’d have to be a really brave CEO to take them on board,” Mr Bruce said on the Game Changers Radio podcast.
“You’d be hiring MFW as well along with it,” co-host Irene Hulme said. “They’re coming along for the ride.”
Where to from here
Kyle’s 14-day suspension is set to end at the start of next week, at which time we can expect ARN to announce if the star has done enough to “remedy” the breach they’ve accused him of and if they’ll let him back on air.
Kyle is determined to make that happen.
“I have a contract with ARN that runs until 2034,” he said in his statement on Tuesday. “I am committed to that contract. Despite what ARN says, I am not in breach of that contract.”
He continued, “I want to be on air. I want to be with my audience. I want to do the job I have done my entire adult life.”
Kyle ended the statement with a vow to his loyal listeners, saying, “I miss you. I’ll be back.”