Shock jock Kyle Sandilands was likely sacked because of pressure from the media regulator and his huge $100 million contract, former ABC Media Watch host Paul Barry says.
Sandilands was on Wednesday sacked by ARN Media less than two years into his $100 million, 10-year contract.
It followed a tense on-air exchange with Jackie “O” Henderson, during which Sandilands accused his co-host of being “off with the fairies” and “almost unworkable” due to her fixation with horoscopes.
Sandilands was taken off-air and given 14 days to remedy what ARN Media claimed was misconduct and a breach of his contract.
The former Kyle and Jackie O Show host has rejected the termination notice, flagging a potential legal challenge.
“I don’t accept it,” he said in a statement.
“My lawyers told them last week this would be invalid. And guess what? It is.”
Sandilands says his lawyers are now involved in the contract dispute. (ABC News)
Mr Barry said on Wednesday the outcome was not a surprising one.
 “[ARN] were very keen to get rid of him, basically, because it’s costing them a massive amount of money,” he said.
“Two hundred million dollars over 10 years and [Sandilands and Henderson] are not bringing in that sort of revenue.”
‘An absolute disaster’
At one point, the pair’s show attracted an audience of 797,000 people in Sydney each weekday morning and held a 16.3 per cent market share — the largest of any Sydney radio station.
The pair ended last year with a 12.7 per cent share in Sydney, slipping to second position on the network ratings list. In Melbourne, it flopped to 5 per cent.
Australian journalist and media commentator Janine Perrett told ABC Radio Sydney the dire results in Melbourne likely played a part in ARN Media’s decision.
“That’s been an absolute disaster … it’s pretty clear ARN were looking for any excuse to try and get out of it, but it’s a big call,” she said.
“Kyle has got a lawyer, and he’s got the same lawyer who represented Antoinette Lattouf against the ABC successfully.”
The Kyle and Jackie O Show failed to generate traction in Melbourne. (Facebook: The Kyle and Jackie O Show)
The Kyle and Jackie O Show was embroiled in a number of controversies over its 25 years on air.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) this week imposed additional licence conditions on ARN Media over several breaches of decency standards in 2025.
The conditions would apply to any program featuring Sandilands or Henderson, with Mr Barry saying ARN Media risked losing its licence if further breaches were found.
Paul Barry says ARN Media likely acted after pressure from the media regulator. (News Online Brisbane)
“I think the radio station finally thought, well, we can’t control him and if he does it again, we are going to really be in trouble, so let’s try and find a way out,” he said.
“The regulator has finally decided that it is going to get tough.”
Advertisement pressureMelburnians never fell for Kyle and Jackie O
Advertisers were met with pressure to boycott the show on a number of fronts.
Online activist group Mad F***ing Witches (MFW) created a campaign called #VileKyle and claimed partial credit for the show’s demise.
“Our campaign prevented them from expanding into those other states,” MFW founder Jennie Hill said.
Ms Hill said the group put an “enormous amount of pressure on ARN management to do something” about Sandilands.
“People power or collective action can actually, not all the time, but sometimes, can have an impact,” she said.