Source : the age
Radio broadcaster ARN Media has done a settle-now-pay-later deal with its once-biggest star and latter-day nemesis, Kyle Sandilands. The company called it as a commercial success, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is a narrowly avoided disaster.
The legal settlement was a practical way to avoid a horror financial outcome for the media group, which had made the scandalous commercial error of signing up the popular but risky and controversial radio jocks Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson for its KIIS FM morning show for the onerously profligate sum of $200 million over 10 years.
As everyone will be aware, this all ended in tears earlier this year. Sandilands ridiculed Henderson on air, she walked out of the studio and ARN seized on their clash to attempt to void the expensive contract. The duo lost their jobs and then sued the company as the commercial marriage turned into a messy divorce.
Thanks to Wednesday’s settlement, Sandilands will pocket about $12 million – $3 million upfront and the remainder in instalments over three years, which presumably will provide him with enough to pay the interest on his four property mortgages.
Why pay in instalments? ARN’s most recent financial accounts from December 2025 state it had only $10.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, so pragmatism is required.
But ignore those who cast this result as a win-win. It’s an embarrassing chapter in radio broadcast history. ARN will live to fight another day and Sandilands has settled for way less than the $85 million he was seeking. And that’s why ARN’s share price experienced a relief spike – the existentially critical moment has passed.
Ignore those who cast this result as a win-win. It’s an embarrassing chapter in radio broadcast history.
In ARN’s eagerness to cauterise the bleeding from its self-inflicted financial wound (the stupendously generous $200 million ten-year contract with Sandilands and Henderson in 2023), it now has to pay $12 million to a man it had accused of workplace abuse.
The letter sent by ARN’s lawyers to Sandilands a few months ago said (among other things): “You made abusive, humiliating, and belittling comments to, and about, Ms Henderson while on-air. This included attacks on Ms Henderson’s personal character, work ethic, and job performance, and accused her of having lost touch with reality.”
Not only is ARN now handing millions to Sandilands, he will also get $1.5 million worth of free advertising from the company for his new morning podcast, which will compete with its own morning radio shows.
If Sandilands’ podcast is a success, ARN could claw back a bit of money thanks to a revenue share agreement in which it would get 20 per cent of the podcast’s revenue for three years.
That’s the easier part done. Now for the hard part: reaching a settlement with the aggrieved Henderson.
Remember that some of the alleged bullying she has been subjected to was on live on air.
It feels like a pretty simple case that she endured harassment in a workplace where she wasn’t safe. She said she could no longer work with her alleged tormentor.
So ripping up Henderson’s contract will presumably be a tougher legal case for ARN to defend.
Still, cutting a deal with Sandilands may help pave the way to clear up the Henderson mess.
ARN needs to lock that in before investors get too excited about its prospects.
After all, it’s a pretty small company with a sharemarket capitalisation of only $78 million – less than the $82 million-plus in compensation Henderson is seeking – and a five-year share price chart that looks like an off-ramp.
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