Kyle Sandilands has been sacked. The Kyle and Jackie O Show that people have loved — or loved to hate — for almost three decades is officially over. And one clear question: what's next for the radio duo?

For two weeks, many of us speculated — in group chats and over dinner tables — about the fate of the successful but controversial radio show.

On Wednesday, the axe finally fell. Sandilands announced his contract with his employer ARN Media had been terminated. The media company quickly followed with a statement of its own confirming the news.

It marked the end of the radio show as we've known it for years, but the story is only just the beginning.

Watch: Mamamia Out Loud discuss what came before Kyle and Jackie O's on-air fight. Post continues below.

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What came before Kyle and Jackie O’s on air fight | Mamamia Out Loud

In his statement, Sandilands said he refused to accept the news and had handed the termination of his $100 million, 10-year contract over to his lawyers.

The duo's $200 million deal, signed in 2023 and set to run to 2034, was the largest in radio history. But just three years in, that deal is done.

Here's everything that led to the show's axing and what we can expect next from the radio duo.

Kyle and Jackie O's on-air fight.

It all came apart from an on-air stoush between the pair on February 20, when Sandilands began criticising Henderson about her interest in astrology.

"Your fixation on this has made you almost unworkable… You're off with the fairies," he said.

Henderson became defensive and clearly upset by his remarks, then walked out. She never came back.

It's the kind of on-air conflict the radio duo have been known for for so long.

But this time Henderson seemed to have had enough.

The conversation was later removed from the podcast version of the episode. Henderson didn't return to air the following week.

Many listeners anticipated the co-hosts would work it out and return to the show as usual. Instead, ARN Media stepped in.

In a statement, it announced Henderson had given notice that she "cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands" and would no longer present the program, confirming it had terminated her contract.

The network also said it had suspended Sandilands over alleged "serious misconduct" and given him 14 days to remedy the situation with his co-host or cease presenting the show.

Later, Henderson denied she had quit.

Sandilands claimed that he reached out and apologised to Henderson the evening of the falling out.

Then on Wednesday came the statement that confirmed the end.

Listen: The Quicky unpacks Kyle and Jackie O's next move. Post continues below.

Sandilands addressed the situation in his own words, saying, "I don't accept it".

"My lawyers told them last week this would be invalid. And guess what? It is."

"When I said I was sorry to Jackie, I meant it," he added.

"I still mean it, but it doesn't mean I will stand by while I am separated from the people who have listened to me every morning for the past 25 years, so it's over to my lawyers."

Minutes later, ARN Media released its own statement.

"ARN Media Limited advises that it has issued a notice of termination of contact to Mr Kyle Sandilands and Quasar Media," it read.

"As a result, The Kyle and Jackie O Show will no longer be presented."

'It's a big deal.'

The termination of The Kyle and Jackie O Show is not just a massive blow for the co-hosts, but also for the audience that has tuned in for decades.

The pair's former boss and co-host of the Game Changers Radio podcast, Craig Bruce has been following this story from the beginning and said Sandilands' termination is a "massive" deal.

"Kyle and Jackie O, if you were just to look at the numbers in Sydney on breakfast radio, they have been number one now for almost 21 years," he told Mamamia's news podcast The Quicky.

The termination of The Kyle and Jackie O show is a "massive" deal, says their former boss. Image: Instagram.

"They have been the most successful FM breakfast show in Sydney radio history, and they are still number one by a long way on FM in breakfast.

"And despite that … ARN have decided to end this contract. So it's a big deal for a lot of people who have spent 20 years growing up listening to this show and having it as part of their lives."

'The numbers never, ever stacked up.'

Bruce said the writing's been on the wall for a while now, noting that "the business of Kyle and Jackie O in breakfast hasn't been working for a couple of years now".

He said the contract that the radio duo signed back in 2023 "was never going to fly".

"I mean there's just not enough money in radio to pay two people that amount of money," he said.

"And ARN as a company, they are in 33 markets, they have 60 radio stations and last year they had a profit of $6 million whilst paying two people $10 million each. The numbers never ever, ever stacked up."

Pair that with the campaigns against the radio show from activist group Mad F**king Witches and the show's failure to succeed in the Melbourne market, and it's a recipe for disaster, Bruce said.

"We don't know the specific numbers but they're just not making enough money and they're costing too much money," he said.

"It's the worst of both worlds."

So, what are Jackie O's thoughts on all of this?

We've heard from Sandilands and from ARN Media but Henderson has remained relatively quiet on the situation so far.

"My understanding is that Jackie's not talking to anyone at the moment," Bruce told The Quicky.

"I think that she is horrified that what started with Gemma Fordham (now O'Neill), her manager, and Jackie going to ARN saying that 'I can't work with Kyle Sandilands and it's an unsafe workplace', that has had this cascading effect, and I think that she's just devastated that it's ended this way."

As for Sandilands, Bruce said: "What I hear from other people close to [him] is that he is as scared as he's ever been in his life".

Kyle and Jackie O could technically be back on air tomorrow.

In theory, Bruce said Sandilands and Henderson could be back on Sydney radio tomorrow with another network.

He said it depends on what kind of restraint of trade agreements are in place from the existing contract.

"There might be a clause which says, 'Look, you have to have six months away from radio before you come back', but in theory, now that the contract is done, they can go and work for another radio station," Bruce said.

"The question is which radio station will take the risk."

'The tone of the show would have to change.'

While the fate of Sandilands' ARN contract hung in the balance, the Australian Communications and Media Authority imposed additional licence conditions on the network, citing "repeated breaches of the decency provision of the Commercial Radio Code of Practice".

The rules apply to The Kyle and Jackie O Show, along with any other show the personalities may host or feature on, alone or together, and last for five years.

Bruce said that with these new regulations in place, if the show were to be picked up elsewhere, "the tone of the show would have to change".

"Explicit sexual content, which really should never be on broadcast radio anyway … can't be on Kyle and Jackie O and can't be on a Kyle Sandilands or Jackie Henderson show for the next five years," he said.

Content of that nature has long been a feature of The Kyle and Jackie O Show, so stripping it back, Bruce said, "really does change the nature of the show if it in fact comes back to radio at any point".

See you in court.

So, what's next?

Bruce doesn't see a return happening any time soon. What he thinks is most likely is that this will continue to play out in court.

Sandilands already claimed in his statement that ARN Media would be dealing with his lawyers. It's a legal fight that Bruce thinks could "get messy".

"The lawyers are going to have a field day and there will be no winners," Bruce said.

It is not yet known what is next for the pair. Image: KIIS1065.

Will Kyle and Jackie O go against each other in court?

While this all started with an on-air fight and ARN's statement that Henderson can no longer work with Sandilands, Bruce thinks it's unlikely the pair will go head-to-head in any legal sense.

"I just can't imagine any party is going to want to do that and have all of the dirty laundry aired," he said.

"I'm not saying there's 1,000 skeletons… but clearly I don't think that they were in their best headspace together as a team.

"I think that this had been bubbling along for a little while."

What about the $200 million contract?

While the show is done and contracts have been terminated, Bruce believes "this will end up in some kind of settlement".

"ARN will get a chance to move forward and Kyle and Jackie will get some kind of a payday," he said.

Could Kyle buy the network?

One rumour circling amid the drama is that Sandilands could turn around and buy the network. But this is something that Bruce believes is just that — a rumour.

"I don't think he's got any intention of doing that," Bruce said.

"In reality, I think that would be just too hard. I mean he's a pretty simple guy, he just wants to be on the mic."

Could Kyle move to another network?

In reality, Bruce said, Sandilands could move to another radio network.

But after coming from a multimillion-dollar annual salary, Bruce believes Sandilands is unlikely to sign up for a lower offer at another network.

What could be more lucrative for Sandilands, Bruce said, is an independent project monetising off his own audience through platforms like YouTube, podcasting and live shows.

"He does have a very, very loyal audience and they will follow him wherever he goes," he said.

"I just don't know whether he wants to do that."

What about Jackie O?

According to Bruce, Henderson could easily move into another radio format, but he was not sure whether it's something she would want to do.

"I don't think she wants to do it without Kyle, to be honest," he said.

"It wouldn't surprise me if she just took a couple of years away from media altogether and a breather, and we see her again later down the track. It's hard to know."

Feature image: Instagram @jackieo_official.