What Happens Now That Kyle & Jackie O Are Over?

Sources told Mediaweek staff were informed of the decision only minutes before it was made public.

As it stands, employees have not been told whether their roles will continue at the network.

Beyond the immediate uncertainty inside the building, the strategic implications are significant.

Industry observers say it is difficult to quantify the broader commercial impact of the Kyle and Jackie O deal on ARN’s wider business decisions over the past two years.

The scale of the $200 million commitment meant the network’s breakfast strategy, and much of its cost base, became heavily concentrated around a single franchise.

While the current leadership team did not originate the agreement, some market commentators argue the decision to exit the contract should not be framed as a clear-cut victory.

Instead, they suggest it marks a transition from one high-stakes position to another, with the company now tasked with rebuilding audience share and advertiser confidence without its marquee talent.

The timing also raises questions. As recently as last week, CEO Michael Stephenson publicly reinforced the show’s strength and described its hosts as the biggest stars in Australian radio.

The abrupt pivot leaves the business needing to articulate what comes next, and how it replaces a property it had continued to champion.

Over the past two years, ARN has undergone restructuring and cost adjustments, designed in part to support its national breakfast ambitions.

Some former staff have privately expressed frustration at those trade-offs to Mediaweek, particularly given the current outcome.

Meanwhile, ARN’s Chief Financial Officer, Alexis Poole, has encouraged employees to lean into new technologies, including AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot, as part of broader productivity initiatives.

The immediate question: who fills the vacuum?

Mediaweek spoke to Game Changers podcast co-host Craig Bruce, who has seen this movie before. Bruce was at Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) during the ill-fated 2DayFM era and understands the challenge of replacing a heritage breakfast brand.

“Irreplaceable, that would be a good way to kind of think about it,” Bruce told Mediaweek.

“You can’t replace a show like Kyle and Jackie O. You just do the best you can and hope that the audience will find a way and be patient with whatever you put in, in its place. But it’s going to be a really high-risk, high-reward act for anyone to go in and be the next show,” he said.

Bruce added that the audience currently listening to KIIS are there only for one reason: Kyle and Jackie O.

“There is no guarantee that any show, regardless of how good it is, can come in and maintain the audience. They could lose half their share, depending on the options in Sydney,” he said.

In Sydney, Bruce points to Luisa Dal Din and Jack Archdale, better known as Lu and Jarch.

“They would be ones to look at. I know they talked about potentially doing breakfast and wanting a national platform. So they would be an option.

“They’re both young. They’ve got energy. They’ve got an audience already. And they’ve got chemistry and connection and all of those things. So I think if there was a ready-made show, and look, it’s not the perfect show, but it would give Dave Cameron and others something to work with,” he said.

The duo recently appeared on Behind the Mic with Mike E, hosted by Michael Etheridge, where they were asked directly about a potential breakfast move.

Archdale said: “It’s a tremendous compliment.”

Dal Din added: “I mean, certainly, we wouldn’t say no to anything, but also I think people forget that our audience is nationwide.”

When asked whether that would require a national breakfast format, Dal Din said: “I think if radio stations are listening, maybe start a national one.”

Etheridge responded: “So we’d need to do a national breakfast?”

Dal Din replied: “I think if radio stations are listening, maybe start a national one.”

Etheridge said: “That would make sense.”

Archdale added: “We’re really loving where we are and what we’re doing.”

In Melbourne, Bruce believes the most obvious play would be the current podcasting duo of  Toni and Ryan.

“Look, if ARN could get Toni and Ryan across the line, that would be the obvious option. But they’ve got such a successful podcast, I don’t think that would happen.”

Failing that, Bruce suggests a more traditional move.

“So maybe take the station a little bit older and go and get Matt Tilley and Jo Stanley and bring the band back together and do a Matt and Joo show. I know Dave and Matt have a great relationship, as does Dave and Jo as well,” he said.

Mediaweek contacted one half of the podcasting duo, Ryan Jon Dunn, and asked whether they would consider the breakfast slot.

Dunn’s reply? “For $201 million for 10 years, we’d consider it. But we’d need TARPer approval [Toni and Ryan Podcaster] for a decision like this, and I’m not sure there is any benefit for them.”

ARN, there’s your price.

Bruce is blunt about the broader strategy.

On whether ARN will retain a national format: “They’re going to run a mile from it if they can.”

And on the KIIS brand itself: “The KIIS brand means nothing. It’s just an empty shell.

“And I say that with respect and with knowledge of what we went through at Today. There’s no equity in the KIIS brand. It’s all with Kyle and Jackie. And they’re walking out the door with the fans at the radio station, not the station itself. So KIIS could do any format tomorrow. It won’t matter because they can start from scratch and go wherever they need to go.”

In other words: this isn’t a programming tweak. It’s a rebuild.

From Mediaweek