‘I don’t accept it’: Sandilands to fight $100 million KIIS termination

Kyle Sandilands’ contract has been terminated by KIIS owner ARN, sparking threats of legal retaliation from the controversial broadcaster over his $100 million contract with the FM radio company.

Sandilands said he had done everything the company asked during the 14 days he was suspended from broadcasting after berating his co-host Jackie “O” Henderson, including telling the station he was willing to work with someone else, but claimed the outcome was pre-determined.

ARN and Sandilands both separately announced the termination on Wednesday morning, putting an end to the broadcaster’s record-breaking contract to present the Kyle & Jackie O Show until 2034, which is now all but certain to be challenged in court.

“ARN has just announced that they have terminated my contract,” a statement from Sandilands on Wednesday morning said. “I don’t accept it.”

“My lawyers told them last week this would be invalid. And guess what? It is.”

Sandilands said he has done everything asked over the past few weeks, but accused them of not wanting to “fix” the matter, using it as a chance to get out of the remainder of the much-publicised $200 million contract he and Henderson signed in 2023.

“So, it’s over to my lawyers.”

Representatives for Sandilands distributed the statement early on Wednesday morning in advance of an official ASX announcement from ARN, which shortly after confirmed “The Kyle and Jackie O Show will no longer be presented”.

In his statement, Sandilands indicated that he was willing to work with “someone else” in the absence of Henderson, who he has worked with for more than 25 years.

“I said, put me back on air. I’ll work with Jackie. I’ll work with someone else. Whatever you need. Every single time – ‘no’. They weren’t interested. They didn’t want to fix this. They thought they saw a chance to get out of the contract they signed with me a year ago, and they ran with it.”

The decision comes two weeks after Henderson’s contract was terminated by ARN after the company said her representatives had told management she could not continue working with Sandilands. As a result of the on-air feud in February, which reduced Henderson to the point of tears, he was alleged to have been in breach of his contract following an act of “serious misconduct”.

Sandilands said in his statement that he had apologised to Henderson and meant it. Henderson has previously said she did not quit ARN and was addressing the issue through legal channels.

The pair’s contracts, which stood to run until the end of 2034, had become onerous for ARN just one year in, after the show’s expansion to Melbourne bombed and advertiser sentiment turned against the historically coarse sexualised content featured on the show.

In response, Sandilands said the company knew “exactly what they were getting into”, having worked with him for a decade.

“So, you tell me – why would ARN prefer to breach a contract and pay the legal consequences rather than honour the contract and pay me to do what I do best? That’s the bit that doesn’t make sense.”

Privately, the expected contract termination has been the subject of much consternation among rival radio executives over the past two weeks. On Tuesday, one executive who spoke on condition of anonymity due to commercial sensitivities said Sandilands is in a “strong position”, arguing that his tirade against Henderson last month wasn’t close to his worst on-air behaviour.

Another executive said it is likely both Sandilands and Henderson will challenge the terminations, but that ARN had no option but to act, with the finances of the deal “only working” if the show was successful across the eastern seaboard.

Sources at ARN, who spoke anonymously because they have been instructed not to communicate with journalists, confirmed that two emails were sent to staff after Sandilands released his bombshell statement.

The first message stated: “There is currently a media presence on the ground floor of our Sydney office. Sharing a reminder that if you’re approached by media, please direct them to approach [our head of publicity].”

The second email, sent by ARN chief executive Michael Stephenson shortly after 8am, said: “Hi team, this morning ARN announced that it has issued a notice of termination of contract with Kyle and Quasar Media following the completion of a 14-day remedy period. As a result, ARN will no longer present the Kyle & Jackie O show.”

One junior producer at ARN, who did not work on Kyle & Jackie O, said: “There’s a lot of bitterness and anger in here about the fact these two [Sandilands and Henderson] are arguing over millions of dollars while the rest of us are getting made redundant, or trying to pay the rent on salaries that barely cover our [daily living expenses].”

Another ARN insider claimed: “What’s going on is so blatantly obvious that it’s almost laughable: ARN were desperate to get out of this contract, so they seized this opportunity the second it presented itself. Whether [management] succeeds is another question altogether.”

Media and entertainment law expert Shaun Miller, principal of Shaun Miller Lawyers, believes Sandilands is on solid legal footing.

“I wouldn’t want to stand between Kyle Sandilands and $88 million – it will be road kill,” Miller said.

“Kyle is on the attack against ARN. He’s basically saying, ‘Don’t call us; we’ll sue you.’ And Kyle has the strong legal argument that he was engaged by ARN to be controversial, provocative and a maverick. So for ARN to terminate Kyle’s contract for reasons that ARN actually engaged Kyle to do – that makes no sense at all.”

Miller said that ARN’s position may be based on the fact the company hired Sandilands specifically to work on the Kyle & Jackie O show – and when Henderson left the show, the program ceased to exist. (Henderson has emphatically denied she quit or resigned.)

He added that if Sandilands and Henderson are willing to resume their working relationship, the question their respective legal teams will put to ARN is: “What’s the problem?”

The show was launched into Melbourne two years ago, but in that time KIIS lost more than 220,000 listeners under Sandilands and Henderson, or 36 per cent of its breakfast audience. The first ratings results of 2026 are published on Thursday.

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