Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, stars of KIIS FM’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show, are rumoured to be jumping ship from the ARN-owned station to rival station 2Day FM. But, might they have just let the cat out of the bag on air?
Sandilands told his co-host that he was asked about the rumours by paparazzi earlier this week as he returned to Sydney from his honeymoon in Europe.
The 52-year-old radio host hinted that he might be open to the move to the Southern Cross Austereo-owned 2Day asking Jackie, “What’s my motto?”
She responded, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Kyle joked that Jackie had the same motto but she fired back, “I don’t just live my life based on money, there are other things as well.”
The exchange followed reports that SCA has been “pretty aggressive” in its pursuit of the duo, who placed second in the fourth radio ratings of the year behind 2GB’s own Bed Fordham.
The pair’s current deal with ARN is rumoured to be worth up to $8 million per year. Adding more intrigue to the story is ARN’s recent purchase of a 14.8 per cent stake in SCA — worth $38 million.
ARN said the move was a “strategic equity investment” as Southern Cross’ share price was so low. However, some in the industry have noted that ARN might be attempting to hedge its bets should Kyle and Jackie jump ship.
The network’s boss, Ciaran Davis, told the AFR last month that “Since Kyle and Jackie O have been with us, we have been working very hard to make sure they feel part of a bigger network, and that everybody contributes to that. I don’t think that it’s a surprise to us that they have had the highest listenership they have ever had.
“Honestly, having worked in many countries in radio, I think they are the best in the world at what they do.”
But, given today’s on-air antics, Davis might be lamenting the loss of his stars sooner rather than later.
