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

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The news that Kyle Sandilands was let go caused a big stir, but many people in the industry had actually been expecting it.

In a surprising decision, the Australian Radio Network (ARN) ended Kyle Sandilands’ contract with KIIS FM on Tuesday night. This followed a heated on-air argument between Sandilands and his co-host, Jackie ‘O’ Henderson.

As someone who keeps a close eye on the media landscape, the news about Kyle Sandilands’ departure wasn’t entirely surprising to me. I’ve been following the story for a while now, and honestly, I’d sensed this was a possibility. Peter Ford, a well-respected entertainment journalist, has been vocal about the potential for changes, and he’s confirmed it wasn’t a total shock to him either.

Ford told nine.com.au he was surprised by when the announcement was made, not the announcement itself.

He said the only surprising thing was that the announcement hadn’t been made the day before.

Ford said he thought the announcement would come at the end of the day yesterday, but ARN actually told Sandilands he was fired at 12:03 AM on Wednesday.

He said he’d heard it was expected to happen around 5pm yesterday, and he was surprised when it didn’t.

Ford mentioned he’d heard the delay might be because they were trying to reach a last-minute agreement, or because ARN executives didn’t want Kyle Sandilands expressing his opinions on live television during Tuesday night’s Australian Idol episode.

Ford explained that if you watch the quick interview and his appearance on Australian Idol, it’s clear he had no idea at the time. He was completely unaware of what was happening.

Craig Bruce, a former program director at 2Day FM, wasn’t surprised by these recent changes, including the cancellation of The Kyle & Jackie O Show on Wednesday.

As someone who’s been following the show closely, I wasn’t surprised to hear Bruce, who used to work with the hosts at 2Day FM, say that most people involved always figured it wouldn’t make it through the full ten years of their contract. It just felt like a long shot, honestly, even from the inside.

Bruce also mentioned that ARN executives would likely be glad to end the ten-year contract with the hosts, who were reportedly paid around $200 million in 2023 – about $47,000 per episode.

‘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.

The radio industry likely won’t have enough money in the next decade to support a show costing $20 million per year, like the one being discussed.

Honestly, it was SO obvious the whole deal was rigged in favor of Kyle and Jackie O! Looking back, it was a huge blunder for ARN to even offer it to them like that. I bet they’re secretly breathing a sigh of relief right now, though. Seriously, it was just… unfair!

Now that Sandilands has left radio, people are wondering what he’ll do next. Ford believes he might not go back to a regular radio show.

As a big fan, I’ve been following this closely – it sounds like he’s officially a free agent and really eager to get back to work, according to what Ford shared on Sunrise yesterday.

He’s naturally driven to start and work on multiple projects simultaneously. However, I doubt any radio station will hire him again, as his past controversies have created too many complications.

Ford believed the future lay in a new approach, specifically a podcast offered through a subscription service.

He believes Kyle could earn a similar income to what he currently makes by starting a subscription podcast. Because Kyle has a dedicated following, if enough fans signed up to pay around $12-$13 per month, the podcast could be quite profitable, he said.

If he succeeds, it would be a historic achievement for Australia, and I believe it’s his most probable course of action.

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2026-03-18 12:15