ABC News
Kyle Sandilands has reached a settlement with his former employer ARN Media over the termination of his $100 million contract.
According to a statement to the ASX on Wednesday morning, the media company has agreed to pay the radio shock jock $12.09 million to settle the legal dispute before the Federal Court.
As part of the settlement, ARN Media has also agreed to advertise Sandilands’s new, independent media project on its platforms in a $1.5 million deal over the next three years.
As part of the deal, Sandilands has agreed to a revenue share arrangement with ARN Media, providing the media company with 19.9 per cent of the revenue from his new venture.
However, Sandilands cannot engage with ARN Media’s direct competitors for nine months, according to the ASX announcement.
“This agreement brings certainty for ARN and resolves the legal dispute,”
ARN Media CEO Michael Stephenson said.
“ARN remains focused on executing its strategy, including driving a leaner, more efficient operating model, strengthening its core radio network and continuing to invest in digital capabilities and long-term growth.”
Jackie O’s ARN Media legal action ongoing
Sandilands and co-host Jackie “O” Henderson had their contracts terminated after an on-air argument on February 20 led to the cancellation of the Kyle and Jackie O Show on ARN Media-owned KIIS FM.
Legal proceedings that Ms Henderson lodged against the termination of her contract in the Federal Court remain ongoing.
Her separate legal action against their former employer is claiming at least $82 million in compensation for wrongful termination.
Sandilands’s team originally argued the termination of his contract was invalid and his behaviour did not amount to serious conduct, while ARN Media fought back with counter claims, seeking damages for breach of contract, losses in profit and advertising revenue, and legal costs.
After a Federal Court appearance in late April, Sandilands told awaiting media: “If you know how these procedures work, there’s strategy, and then there’s truth, and once we get inside and we get all the answers out, the truth will raise its head.”
The Kyle and Jackie O Show abruptly ended after Sandilands accused Henderson of “being off with the fairies” because her fixation with horoscopes made her “almost unworkable”.
Sandilands was suspended for 14 days to remedy “an act of serious misconduct” in breach of his contract, and was later sacked.
Henderson’s lawyers previously said she was left “psychologically unwell” from the “ongoing bullying” and that she “cannot continue to work with Mr Sandilands”.
