ARN responds to Kyle’s requests for show to become an iHeart subscription product

The Australian Radio Network (ARN) – which operates both KIIS FM and the iHeartRadio platform – has flagged there are potentially subscription and value-add products in the works around The Kyle & Jackie O Show.

The news has emerged in the wake of Sandilands appearing on the Radio Today Tonight podcast last week and pushing for his Sydney Breakfast radio show, The Kyle & Jackie O Show, to be taken national.

In the chat, he also revealed his desires to make the show more multi-platform, and to monetise its content.

He said he’s been speaking to ARN CEO Ciaran Davis and chief content officer Duncan Campbell about it “for five years now”.

“I want that to go through iHeart, and I think that should be a premium, paid-for extra that you don’t get for free,” he said. “We need to keep developing our streaming services.”

He said the show’s video elements on social media already had really good numbers, and given ARN’s long-term association with the iHeart platform, it made sense to exploit this more.

In response, ARN’s Campbell told Radio Today that a subscription offering is something the network is considering and it had already “technically” developed the ability to launch these services.

“Over the past 12 months in particular, we have invested significantly in our digital audio and data capability, and we’re excited to bring new audio content and services to audiences,” he added. “We are also looking forward to some significant product upgrades and new launches later this year, which will further enhance our leading position in this space in Australia.”

He said this was one of radio’s great strengths – its ability to thrive while others struggle, and embrace new tech to meet the changing needs of audiences and brands.

“All our shows are filmed and all our talent embrace multi-platform delivery of their content to where their audiences are – whether that’s live to air, audio on demand, digital or socials,” he said.

“The appeal of iHeartRadio is that our audiences can get radio, music and podcasts all in one place, which makes it the perfect platform to explore exciting new opportunities for The Kyle & Jackie O Show, and our other much-loved shows, to give fans more of the content they love, on demand.”

ARN, he said, is already leading the way in this regard.

“ARN have been focused on growing our reach and strength in audio digital streaming. Today, our iHeartRadio platform – including the iHeartPodcast Network – has a stronghold in Australia as the leading audio streaming platform and with the global backing of iHeartMedia, the local and international opportunities for ARN’s talent, content and commercial partnerships are endless.”