Why Kyle Sandilands’ termination was ‘no surprise’ to industry insiders – but the radio king was left ‘in the dark’ about the inevitable decision

While the news of Kyle Sandilands’ termination has sent shockwaves through the industry, for some insiders, it was inevitable. 

The Australian Radio Network (ARN) terminated Kyle Sandilands’ KIIS FM contract on Tuesday night in a bombshell move against the radio host, following his on-air blow-up with Jackie ‘O’ Henderson.

Entertainment journalist Peter Ford, who has spoken out numerous times in the lead-up to Sandilands’ axing, said the news was not a huge shock.

Speaking to nine.com.au, Ford explained that he was only taken aback by the timing of the announcement.

‘The only thing that surprised me was that the announcement didn’t come out yesterday,’ he told the publication.

Ford added that he had expected the announcement at close of business yesterday; however, ARN notified Sandilands of his termination at 12.03am on Wednesday morning. 

‘The inside word was that it was going to happen around about 5pm yesterday. When that didn’t happen, I was surprised by that,’ he said.

Ford added that it had been suggested to him that the supposed delay was due to last-minute settlement talks or the fact that ARN bosses didn’t want Sandilands ‘venting’ during Tuesday night’s live Australian Idol episode.

‘Certainly, if you see the doorstop interview he did and you see him on Australian Idol… obviously, he didn’t know. He was still in the dark,’ Ford said.

Another insider who was not surprised by the developments, which also saw The Kyle & Jackie O Show axed on Wednesday, is former 2Day FM program director Craig Bruce.

‘For people [who] have worked around the show, most have said they suspected it wouldn’t last the 10-year contract they had signed,’ Bruce, who worked with the duo at 2Day FM, told Daily Mail earlier this month.

Bruce added that the termination of the duo’s 10-year deal with ARN – under which the hosts were reportedly paid $200 million in 2023 and earned approximately $47,000 per episode – would be a relief to company executives.

‘It’s too much for any radio show. The money never, ever made any sense,’ he said.

‘Thank goodness it didn’t last 10 years, because I don’t know who was going to be paying the bill.

‘There’s not going to be that amount of revenue floating around in the radio industry in 10 years from now to pay for a $20-million-a-year show, as they reportedly are.’

He continued: ‘The deal was just all in [Sandilands and Henderson’s] favour. It was a mistake for ARN to present that to them in the first place and I think they would be relieved today.’

Meanwhile, attention has already turned to Sandilands’ next move – with Ford suggesting the shock jock may not return to traditional radio at all.

‘He’s a free agent effectively now, and he will want to work,’ Ford said during an appearance on Sunrise on Wednesday.

‘He wants to have projects on the go, it’s in his DNA. But I don’t think another radio network is going to take him on. I think there’s too much baggage involved now with Kyle.’

Instead, Ford predicted a bold new direction, suggesting a subscription-based podcast as the most likely path forward.

‘I think the most likely path for him will be a subscription podcast, where if you get enough people to sign up – and Kyle has got a very loyal fan base – if they were to sign up for $12 to $13 a month, you could actually end up making a lot of money, roughly the same money as he’s currently been getting,’ he explained.

‘It would be a first for Australia if he can pull that off, but I think that’s the most likely path for him.’