With ARN bid now on the table, was Kyle & Jackie O’s rumoured move back to SCA a ploy?
Following ARN’s shock bid to take over rival competitor, SCA, questions are now being raised about a big rumour that has been doing the rounds in the radio world in recent months.
In July, it was reported that Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson were linked to a move back to the network they left in 2013, having anchored breakfast KIIS since 2014. With their current contracts up at the end of 2024, it was rumoured that SCA were “pretty aggressive” in their pursuit of the ratings powerhouse duo.
However, despite the fact that ARN is looking to take over SCA – proposing plans for “two separate, national media organisations that will compete independently of each other on metro and regional radio, and more broadly” – an industry veteran has pushed back on speculation that the SCA pitch to have Kyle & Jackie O return to 2DayFM was a ploy.
Adam Lang, who previously worked as the former national director of operations and general manager of 2DayFM and Triple M Sydney and CEO at Macquarie Media, believes that because the duo has dominated breakfast and FM radio for some time, the offer from SCA could have been legitimate.
Adding to this, it’s expected that Sandilands and Henderson will finalise a speculated $200 million deal over ten years by the end of the year.
“The fact is that [Kyle and Jackie O] have demonstrated now over decades to be number one. And so Sydney has voted Kyle and Jackie O number one in music or overall radio for the last 20 years,” Lang said on the latest episode of the Mumbrellacast.
“And so, they want to do another ten (years), so it seems. And you can see that they could absolutely achieve that. And if you believe that, and you’re running SCA, you’d want them back and ARN would want to keep them. So, I think that the deal from, or the offer from, SCA is likely to be completely real.”
ARN’s proposed take over, alongside private equity firm, Anchorage Capital Partners, would also see the network function as a “focused” metro radio network of 10 stations across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth – each city featuring a KIIS and Triple M brand – and an aim to increase its regional radio footprint from 47 to 88 stations.
According to Lang, Kyle & Jackie O would feel “incredible” about the bid.
“Whichever company has had them in music radio, and then in all radio, has been number one for about the last 20 years, right? So, this is incredible, and they have really been pivotal in the market of Sydney, and the Sydney market is so big, that’s been pivotal to the value of each company,” he said.
In the same episode of the Mumbrellacast, Lang discussed the ramifications of the proposal and what it could mean for both networks.
Listen to the full episode here.
