4 hours ago
3
Staff on the Kyle and Jackie O Show were left blindsided on Tuesday night when they learnt the show would be canned along with the rest of Australia.
ARN, who owns KIIS FM, announced Jackie O Henderson's $100million contract was terminated via the market operator ASX on Tuesday night.
Staff reportedly learnt the news through social media, with the show's producers 'stood down' until further notice.
'People are stressed and feeling upset, given how close they (staff) on the show are. It is a family,' a source told news.com.au
'Staff are shocked and feeling very downcast. Going from the number one show to nothing is definitely giving them whiplash.'
The source also revealed an emergency meeting is taking place with producers on Wednesday, following a tense few weeks after Henderson stormed off air on February 20.
Staff on the Kyle and Jackie O Show learnt the radio show was being cancelled along with the rest of Australia on Tuesday night
It comes after a tense few weeks after Henderson stormed off air following Sandilands' comments that left her in tears
ARN's statement to the ASX also revealed Henderson had told executives she 'cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands' following his harsh comments on-air that left her in tears.
Henderson has been offered the possibility of an alternate show on the network.
Meanwhile, Sandilands was suspended for 'serious misconduct', and has been given 14 days to 'remedy' the breach, or else face termination.
It comes as sources within ARN indicate that far from being a catastrophe for the network, the explosion of the Kyle and Jackie O Show could be a blessing in disguise.
With revenue falling, and the company locked into contracts with Henderson and Sandilands so inflated some suspect the show can't be profitable, one insider suspected ARN could be seeking to save money by 'engineering' the program's end.
'ARN has a cost issue because they paid too much for them, and a revenue issue because of the boycotts in Melbourne, so it's been a train crash coming for two years,' a source told The Australian last night.
'He's a grumpy old man trying to pretend he's 25-years-old on an FM station and she's got increasingly interested in astrology and alternative therapies, so they've sort of grown apart.
'So this is a massive win for ARN, and it's probably the last card for [chair] Hamish McLennan because he's the one that signed off on the deal.'
Henderson spoke to the Daily Mail hours before her $100million radio deal with ARN was terminated
While the public hasn't heard anything directly from Henderson since the news broke, a Daily Mail reporter spoke with her on Tuesday, just hours before her exit was formally announced.
She had travelled from her eastern suburbs mansion to Newtown, in Sydney's inner west, where she visited a wellness studio just off bustling King St with a friend.
Despite the meteoric news that was about to drop, Henderson put on a brave face, forcing a smile and declaring, 'Good! I'm good!' as she left a sound healing session.
Dressed in a white sundress and sporting a full face of makeup and what appeared to be a fresh blow-dry, the mother of one confirmed her session was 'very good'.
Perhaps tellingly, she alluded to 'healing' in the wake of the bruising incident with Sandilands.
'[I'm] feeling healed. Yes, healing,' she said while making a beeline for her black SUV.
When asked when she would be back on-air, Henderson remained coy, saying: 'I can't really say anything on that front at this point. I'm sorry.'
Pressed on whether she'd spoken to Sandilands since storming off air in tears, she looked momentarily alarmed, ducked into her car and drove away.
Sandilands and Henderson signed a landmark 10-year deal with ARN in 2023 worth $200million - the biggest media contract in Australian history.
However, Henderson recently began saying she would be willing to walk away if she wasn't happy.
The duo have worked together for over 20 years.
English (US) ·