Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson are reportedly in talks to return to Southern Cross Austereo where they once had their hit show on 2Day FM.
According to the Australian Financial Review, the duo’s old network SCA has been ‘pretty aggressive’ in pursuing the pair as their current deal with KIIS FM and ARN comes to an end in 2024.
‘This is like sports rights for radio. It’s very likely it’ll end up being the biggest talent media deal ever,’ a network insider said.
ARN Media CEO & Managing Director Ciaran Davis told Daily Mail Australia: ‘We don’t see contract negotiations as being an on-off exercise.’
‘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.
Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson are reportedly in talks to return to Southern Cross Austereo where they once had their hit show on 2Day FM
‘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.’
A spokesperson for SCA declined to comment on the speculation when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
Last month, Kyle and Jackie O made history for ARN, topping the latest radio ratings survey with a massive audience share of 17.9 per cent.
The duo’s show was the number 1 breakfast show in Sydney for the third survey running.
According to the figures released, the duo averaged a whopping 921,000 listeners a week.
Kyle sent the airwaves blue upon hearing the news, telling his dedicated listeners how ‘excited’ he was about the mammoth figures.
‘I have got a hard-on saying this. More listeners than ever before, it is almost like herpes,’ he said.
‘Herpes goes around the community, everyone has got the herps. Welcome to the club, we are all the Herpes club here.
According to the Australian Financial Review, the duo’s old network SCA has been ‘pretty aggressive’ in pursuing the pair as their current deal with KIIS FM comes to an end in 2024
‘I have gone from a half chub to a full mongrel, just so you know, and that is how you know you’ve done well, when you are sitting at work with a massive hard-on. It doesn’t get much better than that. It is pressed against these tight jeans.’
Henderson was more dignified in her speech, thanking the breakfast duo’s followers and paying tribute to her on-air partner.
‘The most important part, everybody who listens,’ she said.
‘Well done and congratulations, Kyle. Those numbers. We have never thought.’
The Kyle and Jackie O Show first started on 2Day FM in 2015, with Kyle and Jackie replacing breakfast hosts Judith Lucy, Peter Helliar and Kaz Cooke.
It was announced in November 2013 the radio show was ending on the station and it was moved to rival KIIS 106.5 in January 2014.
Back in 2019, Jackie O revealed 2Day FM staff were ‘furious’ when she and co-host Kyle defected to KIIS.
During an appearance on Osher Gunsberg’s Better Than Yesterday podcast, Jackie said she and Kyle had fooled their 2Day FM bosses into thinking that they were retiring from radio.
Once the news was announced that they were actually defecting to rival Mix 106.5, which was being re-branded to KIIS FM, their colleagues were enraged.
‘It was just horrible,’ Jackie said of her last day at 2Day FM.
‘Everyone was there with a big farewell party for us… they thought it was our last day in radio,’ she continued.
‘Everyone from every floor at SCA (Southern Cross Austereo) had come up to watch our last show.’
Jackie explained Kyle pretended he needed to go to the toilet so he could escape the party and leave the building, leaving Jackie behind to face the music alone.
‘Suddenly, I look around and people all have headphones on and word spread that everyone was listening to Mix [FM],’ she said.
‘Simon Greally, our EP [executive producer] at the time, said, “Jackie, you need to get out of here!” As I was walking out of the building they were ripping down our posters. They were furious.’
Making the big reveal even worse was the fact that both Kyle and Jackie had lied to 2Day FM bosses about their move in order to keep the lucrative deal a secret.
When the pair started at the newly-rebranded KIIS FM in early 2014, they remained as the number one FM breakfast show in Sydney.
Meanwhile, 2Day FM’s breakfast slot tanked, with the network going through six different breakfast shows in six years.
The most disastrous was Rove McManus and Sam Frost’s show, which was axed in a matter of months.
Last month, Kyle and Jackie O made history, topping the latest radio ratings survey with a massive audience share of 17.9 per cent
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