Kyle and Jackie O latest: Claims Sandilands could buy KIIS owner ARN if he is sacked, not paid out

Kyle Sandilands is set to learn his fate on Tuesday after ARN warned the radio host his contract could be terminated after an on-air incident with co-host Jackie O Henderson.

However, sources are now claiming that Sandilands could be the last one laughing, with claims emerging he is considering purchasing KIIS parent company ARN if he is fired.

Tuesday is D-day for Sandilands after Henderson walked from the show.

ARN said on March 3 that “Ms Jacqueline Henderson has given notice that she ‘cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands’.”

That move made the radio network terminate the “services agreement” with Henderson Media Pty Ltd, the business under which Henderson presented the show.

ARN gave Sandilands an ultimatum: “Mr Sandilands has been given 14 days to remedy this breach.”

The network warned Sandilands that if the situation was “not remedied” within 14 days, “ARN will terminate the services agreement with Quasar Media”, the company Sandilands presented the show under.

Which gets us to today, day 14.

Bombshell claims have now emerged stating that Sandilands could be considering purchasing the network, believing the value of ARN is reducing each day the Kyle & Jackie O show is not on air.

“It’s early days, but yes, there have been talks with people about this,” the Daily Telegraph reported a source claiming.

“The bottom line is the value of ARN is getting cheaper by the day the longer this goes on and he’s not on air. Market cap is about $100m.”

Why Kyle Sanidlands isn’t walking away

Sanidlands and Henderson had entered into a landmark contract agreement with ARN, which would see the two paid $100 million each over 10 years, ending in 2034.

With most of that contract period currently unfulfilled, Sandilands allegedly wants ARN to pay him $88 million if they do not give his job back, according to multiple reports.

New rules if Kyle and Jackie O return

Amid the dramatic show fallout, ACMA hit the Kyle and Jackie O show and ARN with a string of new rules.

The new rules, which will remain in place for five years, apply to any program hosted by or featuring Sandilands or Henderson. ACMA has warned that further breaches could result in civil penalties, court-enforceable undertakings, or even suspension or cancellation of the stations’ licences.

ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the decision reflected a history of inadequate oversight by ARN Media, the licensee.

“To date ARN management have been unwilling or unable to control the content that has gone to air,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

“These additional licence conditions mean further breaches will attract strong enforcement action that was not otherwise available to the ACMA.”

The ruling comes after nine confirmed breaches in 2025, including:

• “Two episodes of a guessing game where audio clips of male and female staff members urinating were aired, with hosts guessing which audio belonged to which staff member. Both episodes included comments about the genitals of participants, and in the female staff member episode, graphic comments about menstruation and oral sex.
• “A game where a contestant provided an offensive description of a sexual position.
• “A segment which contained lewd discussions about masturbation and pornography websites.”

Despite prior enforcement and the employment of two censors by ARN, the regulator says further action was necessary.

The new conditions also require an independent audit of ARN’s governance processes, with recommendations to be implemented and reported back to ACMA.

What did Kyle say to Jackie O?

During the heated on-air exchange in the February 20 broadcast of their The Kyle & Jackie O Show on KIIS FM, Sandilands criticised Henderson’s focus on astrology research related to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, following the British royal’s arrest in the UK.

“As I said, fascinating, but I don’t think it should be at the detriment of everything else on the show — this relentless research,” Sandilands said on air.

“It’s affecting other things … your fixation on this has made you almost unworkable. You’re off with the fairies with this s***. It’s mental.”

Henderson could be heard fighting back tears as the confrontation continued, with Sandilands adding: “It’s affecting everything else. You’re too fixated on it.

“You’re not doing the rest of the job, and everyone in the building has mentioned it to me. I’ve just said: ‘I’m not getting involved, that’s a management issue’.”

The public clash ultimately proved to be the final straw for Henderson, who later informed the network she could no longer continue working alongside her longtime co-host, according to the ARN statement.