Source : THE AGE NEWS
Warning: this story contains strong language of an explicit sexual nature.
Controversial radio broadcaster Kyle Sandilands vowed to pull his radio show from Melbourne if its ratings did not improve by the end of the year, as the station’s parent company prepared to inform staff of more redundancies and an offshoring of several functions on Wednesday afternoon.
Sandilands, who hosts the KIIS FM breakfast show with Jackie “O” Henderson, told listeners on Wednesday morning the pair were not going to “super serve Melbourne and ignore our Sydney audience”, after the show’s first year of expansion significantly underperformed.
Sandilands threatened to take the radio show off the airwaves in Melbourne if ratings did not improve.Credit: KIIS FM
“You either glue on in Melbourne or you [expletive]. One or the other. Here’s something I haven’t even discussed with Jackie… if we don’t rate better by the end of this year, I’m pulling the carpet out. I’ll just take the show off Melbourne,” Sandilands said. The show employed a censor to block expletives.
“We’re not just going to suck Melbourne off all day, every day,” he added, in response to a new promotional pitch to help drive audiences in the Victorian capital.
He made the on-air comments hours before ARN Media chief executive Ciaran Davis would tell staff of further redundancies as part of a business transformation, which includes off-shoring several functions, including finance, technology and media services.
“We are changing the composition of our team to become leaner and more efficient, which will involve the relocation of some roles and unfortunately, a reduction in head count,” Davis said in a statement.
During the show, Sandilands said he and Henderson had complete control over the show, with the station’s management having no control aside from selling advertisements.
One hour before making the comments, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton appeared on the show.
ARN, like many domestic media companies, has faced the financial impact of a weakened advertising market, mixed with big bets on a failed takeover of rival commercial audio company Southern Cross Media, as well as committing to a 10-year, $200 million contract for Sandilands and Henderson, the largest contract in Australian media, which is yet to pay off.
It began a staged redundancy process at the end of last year, with its long-term content chief, Duncan Campbell, moved into a consultancy role.
Since then, a number of its executive team including chief commercial officer Peter Whitehead, as well as sales, content and marketing staff have also left in the restructure, with more sales staff made redundant this month.
ARN hired Nine’s former chief sales officer, Michael Stephenson, at the close of 2024 in an attempt to drive more revenue. Stephenson was hired as chief operating officer but is expected to succeed current chief executive Ciaran Davis as its next boss.
Michael Stephenson left Nine this year to join ARN. Credit: SMH
This week, ARN investors were urged by proxy adviser firm ISS to vote against Davis’ performance rights, against executive pay and its remuneration report at the company’s annual meeting next week, according to a report published by Capital Brief.
Audiences in Melbourne are yet to warm to the KIIS pair, delivering a 5.1 per cent audience share, placing them eighth in the breakfast slot in the first ratings period of 2025, while they remain the most popular non-talkback show in Sydney.
The second ratings survey will be released on Thursday, with the period including a promotional competition the “$5 million Dawn Dig” at St Kilda Beach in Melbourne. The competition’s winner did not win $5 million, instead taking home a Suzuki.
Aside from ratings struggles, the show is facing several other public challenges. Last month, the media regulator found it breached decency standards, and other investigations are looking into systemic issues with the program.
It has been the target of a longstanding campaign from activist group Mad F—ing Witches, which has pressured brands to pull advertising spend from the show.
The Kyle and Jackie O Show is Sydney’s most popular non-talkback show.Credit: ARN
KIIS already implements a censor to ensure the show adheres to the Australian Media and Communications Authority’s codes, however in its report last month, the regulator said the censors did not appear to “have proactively considered the potential risks of discussing matters of a sexual nature”.
The show and network’s executives have promised listeners less smut this year.
While some media stocks have recovered in 2025, ARN’s share price is down 23 per cent since the start of January, and down 33 per cent across the past year.
ARN reported a revenue jump in its full-year results for 2024 last month, with EBITDA up 30 per cent, but net profit after tax down 59 per cent to $12 million.
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