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BY RadioToday Network June 5, 2026
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Hamish McLennan: “We’ve made a huge financial commitment to Kyle & Jackie O. We need to get payback on that”
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“I think, in some regard, the guys might have pushed the envelope too hard.”
ARN Media Chairman Hamish McLennan has opened up about Kyle & Jackie O’s eye-watering deal and their failure to fire so far in Melbourne during a candid interview on ABC Radio National.
On the latest MediaLand episode, McLennan also addresses the KIIS duo’s controversial content, admitting he himself sometimes winces at the stuff he hears coming out of the speakers.
“I apologise if it goes over the mark from time to time, but if you do compare it to what’s out there on the social platforms and the internet, the stuff being spewed out is terrible.”
Ultimately, McLennan says, listeners have the choice to switch off.
But it would appear ARN is in for the long haul.
“I lived in Melbourne. I think it is a distinct market, so we haven’t got the content platform right. But we’ve also, from a board point of view, got a very realistic view that it will take two or three years to get that right.”
As ARN’s outgoing Chief Content Officer Duncan Campbell has previously done, McLennan cites Christian O’Connell as an example, noting that after his arrival from the UK, it took eighteen months before he topped the FM Breakfast ratings in Melbourne.
Of Kyle and Jackie O’s chances of doing the same, McLennan says “We’ll keep working it until we get it right.”
‘We’re behaving’ is the new slogan that’s been doing the rounds in Melbourne. But are they?
McLennan is asked how much control ARN actually has over Kyle. Is it even possible to get him to behave?
“I think you’ve got to accept that Kyle and Jackie O are performers at the end of the day, and so that’s part of his schtick,” McLennan replies. “The board doesn’t weigh too much into editorial content. That’s not dissimilar to a lot of media companies that are out there at the moment.”
With Australia’s media landscape now more competitive than ever, McLennan emphasises ARN’s commitment to being live and local.
Sure, Kyle & Jackie O tick the ‘live’ box. But – having been networked from Sydney into Melbourne – can we really say they’re local?
“We have local news. We employ people right across all of our networks in those markets,” says McLennan.
“We’re looking for efficiencies. There’s incredible cost pressure. So, the concept of networking is not a new thought. Our competitors do afternoon shows from Melbourne. So I guess what we’re looking for is a competitive advantage.”
“We’ve made a huge financial commitment to Kyle & Jackie O and we need to get a payback for that too.”
“But don’t forget there’s a whole lot of administrative stuff (and) salespeople that service each of those markets.”
This week, McLennan himself made industry headlines when he flagged interest in potentially buying Nine Radio‘s talk stations 2GB and 3AW – if only that were possible.
Current laws prevent one media group from owning more than two radio licences in the same city.
“The previous laws that were created last century by various governments are just completely out of date,” says McLennan, who adds that ARN is dedicated to audio.
“My comments more than anything were designed to say those radio businesses within the Nine group – which is a really large media conglomerate – are very, very small.”
“They would get the attention from us which I think they deserve.”
But first the laws would need to change.
“I think listeners need to understand there are Australian jobs on the line,” McLennan warns. “These are archaic laws that don’t make sense.”
As for the future of Australian radio as a whole, McLennan predicts continued cost pressures in the sector.
“Having said that, I feel that the medium is very relevant. You’ll see more podcasting, more streaming and greater diversity and opportunities for listeners to get great content that’s out there.”
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BY RadioToday Network June 5, 2026
All I can say is the truth has come out. Duncan only was scapegoat when it was Hamish Mcclennon who should have been shown the door along with Duncan.
Jobs on the line? There are jobs on the line because of a bung deal that was struck for two ‘performers’. Exit that deal to save jobs, if that’s the real concern
What a load of cods. Radio is a local medium at its best. One licence only in Australia should be the rule.
Seriously? ARN talking about ‘jobs on the line’. Please…
Christian O’Connell has been live AND local since he started in Melbourne. He always has and continues to talk about what’s happening in Melbourne. That’s why he was able to get to #1 in 18 months. If ARN seriously want to get K&J to #1 in Melbourne, they’ll have to talk about more content relevant to Melburnians (including AFL), visit Melbourne much more frequently for things like OBs and promotions/competitions like Cash Cock, talk about the Victorian capital in a positive light on air and get Kyle to behave himself more. Melbourne radio listeners don’t appreciate smut on the airwaves when they’re waking up.
I’ve heard enough content from these two to know I’ll never switch onto one of their programs again. As for McLemon, sounds like those “archaic laws” are doing a great job of protecting listeners ears.
Hamish McLennan said “I think listeners need to understand there are Australian jobs on the line,”
Well, it may come as a shock to Hamish, but those job losses aren’t because of the media laws.
It’s because his company screwed up with K&JO’s contract. However, admitting that would mean his head being called for by shareholders, so we must put the blame somewhere else.
‘I think listeners need to understand there are Australian jobs on the line’.
What Mr McLennan is conveniently leaving out, is that acquiring Nine Radio would likely lead to a lot of support staff being let go across the two businesses. Double the income and Double the costs doesn’t fix financial pressures, and so there would be considerable pressure to release anybody not directly related to shows… to a certain extent, I think that the limit is actually saving jobs as of right now. How many people can you let go of and still run a functional business? Across the industry I worry that we may soon find out…
… And while Kyle and Jackie rake it in, ARN continue to downsize and layoff across the country. Their pig-headed determination to prove it can work is costing people jobs – not broadcasting laws. Spare me!
Really tired of the attempted spin from ARN. Comparing K&J trash being networked into Melbourne with Christian O’Connell moving to Melbourne to host breakfast is utterly ridiculous. It’s time they took a long hard look at themselves. They need to actually look at some of their other large markets too. What they’ve done to 97.3 in Brisbane is a disaster too. Being beaten by an AM music station after rebranding as KIIS and becoming a B105 and Nova clone. If it was Gold 97.3 it would be killing it in the ratings in Brisbane. Time for ARN to actually get a grip.
Again with the false O’Connell comparison. O’Connell moved from his UK home, to Melbourne, as a relatively unknown, to start a Melbourne-based, Melbourne-centric show. The same time, ARN did the same thing with a relatively unknown duo from NZ radio called Jase & PJ who started on KIIS then. Funny that they fail to mention that.
Kyle & Jackie O are known, they have national exposure, through their previous Hot 30 Countdown, the Hour of Power and countless attempts to install both of them on national television.
Their program is a Sydney-based (sometimes LA-based), Sydney-centric show beamed into Melbourne. They do not discuss subjects that a relevant or pertinent to Melbourne, they do not try to connect with the audience in Melbourne, they do not even want to be seen in Melbourne. They often have Sydney-based newsreaders reading Melbourne news and Melbourne traffic – sometimes horribly mispronouncing suburb names, giving themselves away.
Melbourne are more than aware of who they are, and what they do. Melbourne has said “No thanks”, not just to the content, but also the circusmtances in which they invaded Melbourne breakfast radio.
It’s like comparing apples to aircraft carriers.
18 months, two, maybe three years, it will never work in Melbourne. Melbourne radio listeners love it live and local. The Melbourne radio market, especially breakfast radio is well catered for…stacked with talented presenters talking about local matters and the all important AFL. Although, these two battlers may work in Brisbane as the two cities have very similar interests.
If the media ownership laws were rolled back and there were no restrictions on licence ownership, the outcome would be a monopoly. This monopoly would result in massive job losses as duplicate positions could be eliminated. Hand in hand with this would be networking and content sharing aimed at reducing the operating costs. ARN executives are in no position to pretend they know what’s good for the industry. They are repeating mistakes that have been made over and over again. Hamish McLennan is right about one thing though, ARN desperately needs the K&J deal to pay its way. Problem is, they’ve ignored the lessons of history when it comes to networking a Sydney show into Melbourne. Without decent money coming from Melbourne advertisers, the mathematics don’t work out. The half million a week they need to write just to cover two presenters won’t materialise.
I think @DR has it right. ARN should absolutely fill the FM whitespace in Brisbane, rebrand 97.3 and realign it to the gold network. This would be closer to the original 97.3 music proposition, which the good people of Brisneyland loved and are ate up for years. Keep Robyn and Kip and network the rest of the day if they must (which it appears they must).
They could use one of their DAB+ stations as KIIS Brisbane, similar to what Nova is doing with Smooth Brisbane, and use this to reach their goal of K+J domination. This is a solid plan, perhaps ARN can outsource their programming to the comments section of Radio Today?
Why wouldn’t they have already done this? Perhaps they are planning to align the nearby Ipswich station from River the Gold 94.9?
Get rid of the senior management who oversaw this Kyle and Jackie launch. Keep Kyle and Jackie going in Sydney, halve their salaries and term and get on with it. New ARN show for Melbourne.
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Advertisers are deserting this revolting misogynistic duo in droves. I for one can’t wait to see them fail.
I’m in Sydney and tbh I would rather listen to Melbourne centric stuff than the drivel coming from that show.
What a joke! It’s not the public’s responsibility to make sure ARN’s business model works and people keep their jobs. They have made the biggest programming error in history and Victorians aren’t going to save them. I heard some of the show at the hair dresser recently where Kyle was saying horrible things about Melbourne and our community, so the new catch phrase of “We’re behaving” is hilarious. Admit the mistake and get out of the contract, it’s the only way they can fix this. Kyle is racist, homophobic, sexist and a foul mouthed has-been, Melbourne will not listen whatever McClellan believes.
@Bennie Gee River 949’s signal across most of Brisbane is awful to non-existent.
Re-branding to Gold 949 won’t change that.