Sandilands: ‘show me the money’

Kyle Sandilands has used Sydney's Sunday Telegraph to fire a salvo in his negotiations with Southern Cross Austereo over the renewal of his 2Day contract.

The balance of power in any negotiation tends to lie with the party who is least desperate for a continuation of the partnership, and thus Sandilands is sending messages suggesting he isn't desperate for the role to continue. 

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph today, Sandilands said: “I love doing the show, and I’ll keep doing radio, but the deal needs to be right". 

He also commented that his H2Coco business is doing well; 

“The coconut water business is going really well, so I suppose it won’t be the end of the world. But obviously I’d like to stay on provided the price is right.”

His negotiation message is basically; he has options, he'd like to stay but it won't be a disaster if he doesn't, and whilst he doesn't need the money SCA will need to pay handsomely.

It is clear that Sandilands is positioning himself as a party who will walk away if need be.

The reality is often the opposite to what it seems, particularly given the salary that it is likely Sandilands would be earning, and the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed.

The Sunday Telegraph reports his salary would be $1m. This is off the mark, after nine years on 2Day Breakfast with strong ratings, Sandilands is undoubtedly earning well in excess of $2m annually from his 2Day contract alone, probably closer to $2.5m.

However that hasn't stopped him criticising his employers.

Last week Sandilands publicly criticised Southern Cross Austereo over the departure of 2Day Content Director, and close friend, Derek Bargwanna last week, causing CEO Rhys Holleran to make public comment over how the departure was handled. (see here).

A conspiracy theorist might suggest that Bargwanna's exit was, in part, a negotiation tactic from SCA to send a message to Sandilands that they run the show and he needs to fall into line.

Despite the challenges that the show has caused, both legally and financially, Sandilands and Jackie O have consistently led the Sydney FM breakfast ratings: the show rating just shy of 10%, and #1 (FM) by over 2%.

Given that, and the softness of the 'Matt & Jo' ratings on Fox FM at the moment, it appears unlikely that SCA would not want to retain 'Kyle & Jackie O', and it is probably more likely than not that agreement will be reached for another year.