Jackie O Henderson’s absence continues after on-air clash with Kyle Sandilands
Updated ,first published
KIIS FM terminated the $100 million contract of Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, who told executives that she “could not continue working with Mr. Kyle Sandilands” after a live fight with her co-star.
The decision, announced by KIIS’ parent company ARN on the ASX late on Tuesday, stated that Henderson would no longer make presentations. Kyle and the Jackie O Show, This is only the second year of a 10-year, $200 million contract signed in 2023. His controversial colleague Sandilands has also been suspended and will not present Wednesday’s programme.
The ARN said it gave Sandilands written notice saying his behavior towards Henderson during the program on February 20 amounted to “serious misconduct” and that he had breached his contract and was suspended for two weeks.
The company said it would terminate its contract if it did not provide an adequate response within 14 days.
Henderson was taken off the air after Sandilands berated him two weeks ago.
Henderson took leave last week after Sandilands berated him and criticized his work ethic during a live broadcast on February 20; because Sandilands had read the horoscopes during a debate about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and said it was part of a wider pattern.
“You’re with the fairies, you’re unfocused, you don’t even care… everyone in this building has told me about it,” Sandilands told Henderson during the show, as she fought back tears.
Henderson was expected to return to the highest-paid radio show in the country on Monday, but Sandilands told listeners he would not be on air for a second week in a row.
On Tuesday morning, Sandilands said Henderson’s camp was preparing a statement saying he would “return in the future” but did not provide further details on when or in what capacity that would be.
“The Jackie thing is a delicate situation here. And although I may have lit the match, it’s out of my hands,” Sandilands said at the start of Tuesday’s programme.
“I kind of signed a statement from Jackie’s camp yesterday and I finally realized, that’s the only thing I’ve really noticed, is that Jackie will be back in the future.”
“That was a good sign. So our intention is to come back, which is fantastic.”
Some senior industry figures have suggested that Henderson could negotiate a return to the show in a reduced capacity.
Kyle and Jackie O’s Show We are just two months away from the second year of the 10-year, $200 million contract with KIIS FM. It is by far the most lucrative contract in Australian media and is designed to reflect the duo’s growing dominance in Sydney and planned expansion into other key metropolitan markets such as Melbourne and Brisbane.
The show launched in Melbourne two years ago but has floundered in the city. During the breakfast episode, which traditionally commands more advertising revenue than other times of the day, KIIS lost more than 220,000 listeners, or 36 per cent of its audience, under Sandilands and Henderson.
This imprint confirmed that hundreds of staff have been made redundant by KIIS owner ARN in the two years since the contract was signed, with further redundancies this week. ARN declined to comment.
Last year the ARN was forced to rethink its approach. The Kyle and Jackie O Show The national broadcast is part of the contract signed by the duo, which will last until 2034. It was forced to impose additional censorship on the program after industry rules on decency were violated 12 times in 2025 alone.
The poor ratings were compounded by a prolonged campaign by activist group Mad F—ing Witches; this campaign resulted in subway advertising revenues falling and losing ground to its main rivals Nova and Southern Cross Austereo.
In Brisbane, the channel brings back the previously abandoned breakfast trio Robin, Kip and Corey For 2026, it has also recruited former Nova and Triple J personalities Ben Harvey and Liam Stapleton to start in Adelaide next month. Sandilands and Henderson do not broadcast in these markets.
In the company’s full-year results released last week, ARN said KIIS’s performance had been adversely affected by “increased advertiser sensitivity to brand safety”, which was affecting revenue. Metro revenue on both of ARN’s networks, KIIS and Gold, decreased by 16 percent, or $28.3 million.
Last month, Kyle and Jackie O’s Show Its share fell to 5 per cent in the eighth and final radio ratings survey of the year for Melbourne. It remains one of the best shows in Sydney, but over the same period its share has declined somewhat, as have all of the show’s listeners.
The Business Briefing newsletter delivers big stories, exclusive news and expert insights. Sign up to receive it every weekday morning.
Calum Jaspan is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect with: X or email.
