ARN boss Ciaran Davis: Talks have commenced with Kyle & Jackie O
The boss of the Australian Radio Network – owner of Mix and Classic Hits networks – has publicly confirmed for the first time that the organisation has commenced talks with presenters Kyle Sandilands and sidekick Jackie O.
The statement from ARN boss Ciaran Davis comes two days after the announcement that the Kyle & Jackie O show would be ending on Southern Cross Austereo’s Sydney station 2Day FM later this month when their contracts expire.
The announcement comes after media reports that Sandilands has been seeking from SCA a doubling of his annual salary to $4m.
SCA’s share price plunge | Source: Google Finance
The Sydney breakfast show – which is the number one commercial FM show in the city – is a key plank of advertising revenue for SCA. Friday’s announcement triggered a 6% drop in the company’s share price
Speculation around ARN’s interest in the broadcasters has focused on the Mix FM breakfast slot which has only been occupied by Yumi Stynes and Sami Lukis for the last nine months.
ARN’s Sydney station WSFM’s breakfast slot is occupied by Brendan Jones and Amanda Keller whose Jonesy & Amanada show has closed the gap on the Kyle & Jackie O show in recent months.
In the statement, Davis backed the performance of Jonesy & Amanda, but made no mention of Stynes and Lukis.
Davis said: “Our results and ambition mean we are in a strong position to talk to Kyle & Jackie O about joining our network. Nothing is agreed but talks have commenced.”
The full statement:
Australian Radio Network (ARN) notes forthcoming programming changes at Southern Cross Media’s radio station 2DayFM with the departure of the Kyle & Jackie O breakfast show announced last Friday.
ARN Chief Executive Ciaran Davis said the success of commercial radio was built around retaining and attracting the best talent. ARN has some of Australia’s strongest on-air talent across its network, particularly in Sydney breakfast with WSFM’s Jonesy & Amanda who continue to perform exceptionally well and, earlier this year, helped to take the station to No. 1.
“ARN has been going through a significant transformation over the past three years” said Davis, “and our results and ambition mean we are in a strong position to talk to Kyle & Jackie O about joining our network”.
“Nothing is agreed but talks have commenced”, he said.
ARN is a 50:50 JV between APN News & Media and Clear Channel. ARN’s dual brand strategy with the MIX and Classic Hits networks in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide reaches over 4 million listeners, making ARN one of the leading broadcasters in the demographically important 25-54 segment in Australia.
ARN also recently successfully launched iHeartRadio in The Australian market. iHeartRadio is the only digital music service that combines custom music and live radio, covering a 1000 live radio stations across all ARN, TRN and Clear Channel’s US stations. Early take up of the service in Australia has exceeded expectations.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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radio – on its way out? – like TV?
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Evidence of the industry addiction to photoshop. That photo of Kyle. Are you f’ing serious?
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