Australia’s hit radio show might be moving to a rival station soon.
After almost a decade, Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson are reportedly in talks to move their mega-popular breakfast show back to Southern Cross Austereo (SCA).
According to the Australian Financial Review, SCA is being “pretty aggressive” in its pursuit of Sandilands, 52, and Henderson, 48, as their contract with the Australian Radio Network (ARN) ends in 18 months.
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The dynamic radio duo first began their morning show back in 2005 on 2Day FM, bringing in massive ratings for the station.
But in 2014, the radio hosts shocked audiences with the decision to move their show to Mix 106.5, which was then rebranded as KIISFM.
Sandilands and Henderson’s show had been the number one FM breakfast show in Sydney for six years.
After renewing their contract with ARN in 2019, Henderson divulged on Osher Gunsberg’s podcast, Better Than Yesterday that her co-host Sandilands had been the brains and force behind the switch in 2014.
“He makes big moves and again this one paid off for us,” Henderson said at the time.
Their current five year contract, which reportedly earns Henderson and Sandilands up to $8 million a year, is set to expire in 2024.
While the pair are coming up to ten years with ARN, The Australian Financial Review has reported the hosts are in discussions to sign back with SCA.
SCA also owns the Triple M and Hit FM brands.
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“This is like sports rights for radio,” a media source with knowledge of the discussions told AFR. “It’s very likely it’ll end up being the biggest talent media deal ever.”
“It’s about more money and making it a bigger show, meaning reaching more markets.”
The Kyle and Jackie O Show is coming up to an impressive 20 years on air.
The show has dominated Australian breakfast radio for much of that time with the latest ratings survey revealing the duo reach a culminative audience of a whopping 900,000.
If Sandilands and Henderson do indeed move back to SCA, it will have a big impact on the ratings for ARN.
Just last month, observers speculated that ARN’s decision to take a $38 million, 14.8 per cent stake in Southern Cross Media could be a defensive play in case the Kyle and Jackie O show jumps ship.
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However, ARN maintained that it was purely a “strategic equity investment”.
ARN’s chief executive, Ciaran Davis, told AFR that the company “don’t see contract negotiations as being an on-off exercise”.
“Since Kyle and Jackie O have been with us, we have been working very hard to make sure they feel part of a bigger network, and that everybody contributes to that,” Davis said.
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“I don’t think that it’s a surprise to us that they have had the highest listenership they have ever had,” he added.
When asked about the circulating rumours that the Kyle and Jackie O show may be returning to its original home, a spokesperson for SCA told AFR: “We don’t comment on speculation”.
Recently, Sandilands and Henderson have been continuing their segment live from France where the former has been on his honeymoon in St. Tropez with wife Tegan Kynaston.
While SCA is yet to confirm, the rumoured discussions will likely continue late this year and early into 2024.
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