ARN Media Ltd (ASX: A1N) has terminated its contract with shock jock Kyle Sandilands, setting the company up for a legal battle worth tens of millions of dollars.
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On-air feud
Sandilands was the co-host of The Kyle and Jackie O Show along with Jacqueline Henderson, however, the pair had a falling out during a broadcast on February 20.
ARN Media said earlier this month that Henderson later gave notice that she "cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands."
At the time, ARN Media said it had terminated its agreement with Henderson, while offering her the possibility of another show on the network.
ARN also said on March 3 it had written to Sandilands, saying "that it considers that Mr Sandilands' behaviour during the show on 20 February 2026 is 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''.
Sandilands was given 14 days "to remedy this breach".
ARN said today that it had now issued a notice of termination of contract to Sandilands and his company, Quasar Media, and as a result, The Kyle and Jackie O Show will no longer be presented.
In a statement quoted in The Guardian and other media, Mr Sandilands said he didn't accept the termination.
He said:
I don't accept it. 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.
Legal cost could be huge
The legal battle over the show could be worth north of $100 million, with both Sandilands and Henderson on separate $100 million contracts signed in 2024 and running for 10 years.
ARN also told the ASX earlier this week that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) had imposed licence commissions on the broadcaster following an investigation into The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
The conditions, imposed for five years, included that the broadcaster must comply with the decency provisions of the Broadcasting Services Act and that the program should not broadcast content that was highly offensive or that contained strong and explicit sexual references.
ARN shares are down about 44% over the past 12 months and were trading 1.5% lower at 33.5 cents on Wednesday morning.
