The ARN board has been grilled by shareholders due to falling share prices and the axing of the hugely popular Kyle and Jackie O Show.

Shareholders announced their displeasure with the board in part due to the Kyle Sandilands lawsuit. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

ARN has come under fire from shareholders who voiced their displeasure at the board for the company’s struggles over the last 12 months, including the blockbuster spat with stars Kyle and Jackie O.

The ARN board alluded to the ongoing legal issues with Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson during an annual general meeting in North Sydney on Thursday.

In a thinly veiled swipe at Kyle and Jackie O, chief executive Michael Stephenson spoke about protecting “brand safety”.

“Metro radio revenues declined by $28m,” he said.

“Six million dollars can be attributed to a tough advertising market, the remaining $22m is related to clients who had chosen not to advertise with ARN because of issues relating to brand safety.”

Mr Stephenson said regional revenues didn’t have these issues, although they also declined by $5.3m for the period.

“Over time, we expect a significant percentage of the $26m of revenue that was lost last year because of brand safety concerns to return, improving both our metro radio revenue and revenue share,” he said.

While the board said it could not talk directly about the case, Mr Stephenson said several advertisers had concerns about content, and sponsors that previously left the network could return due now that Kyle and Jackie O were gone.

Overall, ARN Media announced revenue fell 10 per cent to $285m in the year to December, which they say is due to a challenging market and shifting advertisers’ expectations.

Voters strike against board

Shareholders vented their frustrations with ARN Media by voting against its remuneration report, giving the board its first strike.

At the end of the AGM, more than 90 per cent of investors voted against the renumeration report, which would have given new chief executive Mr Stephenson about $1.1m a year plus bonuses.

Shareholders can give a board a “strike” if 25 per cent vote against the remuneration report. Two strikes can allow the shareholders to dismiss the board.

Despite voting against the remuneration package, shareholders voted to re-elect ARN chairman Hamish McLennan.

Over the last year, ARN Media shares have fallen by 51 per cent to 26 cents.

Shareholders took aim at the board for the company’s poor performance and questioned why the share price continued to fall.

Mr McLennan also alluded to the ongoing legal developments between Kyle and Jackie O and the company.

But he confirmed that he was involved with contract negotiations with Kyle and Jackie O prior to the $200m 10-year deal.

Mr McLennan told shareholders that he didn’t sign the contract specifically but he did sign a document that showed his support for the duo.

During his prepared remarks at the start of the meeting, Mr McLennan briefly discussed the ongoing legal challenges with the company’s former talent.

“I would like to further address the current legal dispute involving Quasar Media and Henderson Media,” he said.

Mr McLennan said shareholders were aware that an incident occurred on air between Sandilands and Henderson on February 20, 2026

Following that incident, Henderson took a leave of absence during which Mr McLennan said she received management’s full support and care.

On February 26, 2026, Henderson advised that she could not continue to work with Sandilands and that “direct contact with Mr Sandilands (was) now untenable”.

“The company considered this a repudiation of her contract, on the basis that it was not possible for her to perform her core contractual requirement to deliver the Kyle and Jackie O Show’ and, as a result, her contract was terminated,” he said.