It’s been a big few weeks for King Kyle, and now he’s speaking about the ARN saga in an exclusive chat with Rob McKnight.
Also in this edition of Media McKnight:
- Jackie O’s manager in trouble
- ACMA weighs in on K&J – but is it too late?
- Executives in television become an endangered species
- ABC spinners do their best to cover up a bad decision
- A rare find for a TV classic
You can watch the video version of this article in the player below:
KYLE FINALLY TALKS
It was a crazy afternoon in media circles on Tuesday with journalists around the country waiting for ARN to confirm it was terminating Kyle Sandilands.
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But that announcement never came.
It had been fourteen days since the company had suspended Kyle for ‘serious misconduct’ for his on-air argument with Jackie O on February 20.
Sandilands had been given that time to ‘remedy’ the situation.
No one I’ve spoken knows how he can actually do this. Sandilands was banned from speaking with Jackie or staff.
As the afternoon rolled on, many (including myself) kept refreshing the ARN website waiting for that announcement to appear.
Later that night Kyle made a passing comment about the situation on Channel 7’s Australian Idol, but his first major comments about the situation would happen on MEDIA McKNIGHT.
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MEDIA McKNIGHT is usually recorded in the afternoon, but due to the changing nature of this story I decided to go live.
While on air, and with no new developments, I decided to call Kyle’s manager Bruno Buchet.
On the second attempt, he answered and revealed as much as he could.
Then, surprisingly, Kyle piped in and jumped on the line for a chat.
You can see what happened in the video player above. Below is a transcript of that conversation.
ROB McKNIGHT: Kyle, how are you feeling? This has been horrible for you. I can imagine. One moment you’re doing the show and next, your world has fallen apart.
KYLE SANDILANDS: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. My world isn’t falling apart. Um, I’m, I’ve still got a contract, um, that hasn’t changed. And until they advise me of such, I’m still more than happy to show up there tomorrow to do the radio show. Although, we’re not sure that that’s gonna happen since we haven’t heard anything yet. So, but, um- Well, that’s hopefully I’ll, I’ll, hopefully I’ll hear by midnight and then we’ll know where we all stand. But I wanna get back to work. The listeners want me to get back there. I’ve had many clients call me to say that they want me back on there. Yeah. So we’ll just have to see whether rules singing from the same hymn book or, or whether, you know, the, the … I, I’m willing to, I’m willing to execute the contract as signed, as promised. Same chairman signed it, same chairman wants to take it away, so we’ll see what happens.
ROB McKNIGHT: Are you okay because it has been a rough couple of weeks?
KYLE SANDILANDS: Mate, even my best mate, John Ibrahim, called me today and said, “How are you? ” I said, “Mate, I’m fine.” And he said, “Now, how’s your mental health?” And I started laughing, and I said, “My mental health is fine.” I said, like, you know, I think- Surely not, um. It is, it is, mate, it is. And all, even my wife said to me, “I’m, you’re remarkable the way you’re handling this. ” And I said, “Look, laying down in the corner and crying is not the way I normal … I’ve, I’ve had way worse things than this to handle. I was a homeless teenager. Things are, are much tougher than … I’ve, I’ve dealt with tougher things. Uh, I just decompartmentalized it. And like, as I said, I’m, I’m willing to do the show if they’re willing to put me on and time will tell. Might be a different conversation in the morning, but anyway, if that’s the case, I’ll talk to you in the morning.
While Kyle, his listeners, and the media are keen for the next chapter in this ongoing tale, it seems we will have to wait just a little bit longer.
At least at the time of writing late on Tuesday night.
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It’s certain ARN will terminate Kyle’s contract, but it looks like we will just have to wait a little bit longer for the official announcement.
ACMA WEIGHS IN
We’re not done talking about Kyle and Jackie O just yet!
ACMA has released new licence conditions for the duo, that seem pretty pointless now.
Australia’s media watchdog has imposed additional licence conditions on ARN Media stations broadcasting the Kyle & Jackie O Show, citing repeated breaches of decency provisions under the Commercial Radio Code of Practice.
The press release was lacking detail and – to be honest – was a bit confusing.
Instead of explaining the new conditions, it focused on previous breaches.
To find out exactly what these new conditions mean for ARN, you were better off looking at their ASX statement.
The new licence conditions take effect for 5 years and relate to The Kyle And Jackie O show – which no longer exists – and any other show hosted byl or featuring Kyle or Jackie.
In part, the new conditions state…
The Licensees must ensure that the Program does not broadcast content which is highly offensive or which contains strong and explicit Sexual References by the standards of an ordinary reasonable listener.
Seems very subjective to me.
What defines an “ordinary reasonable listener”?
The people who used to listen to Kyle and Jackie O have a much higher threshold than the people from Mad F*cking Witches.
So, whose opinion wins out?
There’s a lot of compliance paperwork that goes along with the new conditions, including an audit of the Governance Framework by a compliance expert.
ACMA can enforce harsh penalties, including suspending ARN’s licence.
But would they actually do that?
Interestingly, a LOT of critics bring up the infamous lie-detector test when cheering the ‘downfall’ of Kyle.
It reminded me of an old interview I did a few years ago with Kyle, when he shed some light on what happened behind the scenes of that incident.
“I was under the assumption that poor girl was 21. Don’t forget, I was in New Zealand operating out of the Sofitel hotel on a ski holiday when that show happened. I had no control of any buttons. On my sheet she said she was 21 and at no stage did anyone even know she was gonna get asked that question.
“But the girl was 14, so I chose, if someone’s gonna suffer over this, it’s gonna be me, not a 14 year old kid. And she’s made contact since and the mother and said, “You should say what happened. What really happened” And I just said, no, like, I got blamed. I took it because it was my responsibility at the end of the day, was my show.
I found it to be interesting context on a story that has become a lightning rod for those who dislike Kyle and Jackie O.
JACKIE O’S MANAGER IN TROUBLE
Meanwhile, there’s been a big story today about Jackie O’s manager – Gemma O’Neill.
Annette Sharp reports O’Neill’s talent company – Gemmie Agency – went into voluntary liquidation in November.
Administrators are pursuing O’Neill after she wound up her talent management business with debts of $546,848.
The bulk of that sum is owed to the ATO.
As per the story…
On February 20, O’Neill wrote to administrators to inform them she was not in a financial position to make any contribution towards repayment as she has no available personal savings, limited income, and previous attempts to refinance and otherwise raise funds had been unsuccessful.
And if Feb 20 sounds familiar – that was the date of the infamous exchange between Kyle and Jackie O.
Sharp goes on to say:
With relations between Sandilands, Henderson and ARN fast dissolving, on February 24 Gemmie Agency’s administrators reported that O’Neill’s talent agency had failed “primarily because of poor strategic management particularly in relation to the Company’s ability to retain sufficient cash flow to manage its ongoing operating and taxation liabilities.”
There have been a lot of questions asked privately about the advice given to Jackie during this difficult time. Many are wondering whether Gemma overplayed her hand. It’s hard to believe she and Jackie thought ARN would terminate the contract.
Saying she couldn’t work with Kyle gave ARN the opportunity they needed to pounce and try to absolve themselves of the onerous contract for both Kyle and Jackie O.
It’s been a rough week to be an executive in TV Land.
A string of high-profile names and behind-the-scenes people are leaving their jobs – some voluntarily, some not.
CHANNEL 7
On Friday, word came through Seven’s programmer Angus Ross was heading out the door.
He was let go after 27 years with the network.
Executive Chairman – Heith Mackay-Cruise – announced the change in an email, saying:
Over many years, Angus has made an outstanding contribution to the Seven Network, and we are sincerely grateful for his commitment and impact. Among many achievements, perhaps most notably, Angus and his team have led the Seven Network to a #1 position in 17 of the last 19 years. He leaves the business and the broader network content team in incredibly solid shape.
Sources within Seven told me staff were shocked by the move, some even in tears.
Many question whether there is anyone left at the network with actual television experience.
The many changes at Seven have left others wondering whether they will be next.
It was also announced COO Dr Trent Dickson is leaving the business. Dickson was instrumental in the building of the new studios in Sydney and Melbourne.
But changes haven’t just been happening at Seven.
CHANNEL 10
Channel 10’s sales boss – Rod Prosser – steps down from the role at the end of April.
Below is a screenshot of the announcement made by Paramount Australia President Beverly McGarvey on a teams meeting with around 150 people.
A screenshot of the Teams meeting held to announce the departure of 10’s sales boss Rod Prosser
It’s unclear if Prosser resigned or was pushed, but there’s no doubt it has been a challenging time for 10, which has been bleeding millions for the past few years.
CHANNEL 9
Over at Nine, you’ve most likely read reports about Georgie Gardner resignation, but the network has also lost another behind-the-scenes veteran.
Alexander Needs is leaving the network after 24 years.
His current title is “Leading Digital Strategy & Integrated Video Content | News, Sport, Entertainment”.
Media McKnight understands Needs made the decision to quit the network after missing out on a new role which would have had seniority to his current position.
Rather than being relegated to number two, he made the decision to leave when the role was offered to an outside candidate.
Needs is well-liked and Nine was keen to keep him onboard, but he has decided to punt on himself and head out on his own.
Good luck Needsy, it’s tough out there.
THE ABC’S OF SPIN
The ABC’s spin department has been in full damage control after TV Blackbox reported the taxpayer-funded broadcaster is set to close local newsrooms over Easter.
Internal emails showed there was a plan to run national bulletins on TV and radio for four days from Good Friday – something that has never been done before.
Donna Field – the ABC’s Head of Regional, Rural and Metro News – had claimed the decision had been made “as a sustainability measure” for staff after a big start to the year in news.
But in reality, it was all part of a massive cost-saving exercise because the news budget is over by millions of dollars.
Now Media McKnight can reveal there has been a major backdown – of sorts.
The PR team have been sending this statement to news outlets following up on the story:
“We expect to do two national 7PM News bulletins over the Easter long weekend and national radio news bulletins, in line with what we’ve done previously over Easter and Christmas periods. Local newsrooms remain fully operational.”
There’s a LOT of spin in that statement, but it does confirm changes have been made to minimise backlash.
Instead of running a national TV bulletin at 7pm for four days out of Sydney, revisions have been made to reduce that to two – Good Friday and Easter Saturday.
Normal programming resumes from Sunday.
Radio newsrooms will still be subjected to national bulletins for four days, with one local reporter in each regional newsroom supplying copy to the national desk.
But what about the “sustainability” issue for staff?
While that excuse was being used to justify the cost-cutting measures, that angle has been quietly dropped.
There’s so much spin here, I’m getting dizzy!
RARE FIND
Some good news for fans of Doctor Who with the discovery of two classic episodes featuring the first Doctor – William Hartnell.
It’s hard to believe now, but TV stations used to destroy episodes of TV shows because they didn’t believe they would be needed in the future – and the film canisters took up valuable space.
The episodes from ‘The Daleks Masterplan’ were found in a collector’s cardboard box and haven’t been seen since their first transmission in the 1960s.
Unfortunately, Aussies won’t be able to watch the episodes unless they use a VPN and log onto the BBC’s iPlayer.
Except for the most recent seasons on Disney plus, the classic series and 2005 reboot are not available on any streaming service at this time.
A good lesson for everyone – don’t throw out your DVDs!
SH*T I JUST DON’T CARE ABOUT…
This week it’s dirty celebrities.
Much has been made of the rubbish left behind at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre just after the Oscars finished this week.
A picture showing trash, including discarded water bottles and snack packets, has gone viral on social media — sparking backlash over the hypocrisy of the elite, who grandstand about the environment.
This picture taken after the conclusion of the 2026b Oscars has gone viral with some complaining about stars leaving their rubbish for others to collect.
Celebrities, including Emma Stone and Dave McCary were pictured digging into their snack boxes, which were provided to all guests.
WHO CARES!
They were given snacks and they left them at their seats at the end of the show. People do it all the time!
The Academy has also stated that everyone was told to leave their rubbish there for collection.
This is such a non-story it’s annoying!
Media McKnight is on a break next week, but will return the week after.
You can keep up with the latest by going to youtube.com/@mcknighttonight.
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