Almost half of all complaints made in the last financial year about decency standards on Australian radio were about The Kyle & Jackie O Show, the Guardian can reveal.
In the 2023-2024 financial year, 321 complaints were made to radio stations across Australia about “material not suitable for broadcast”. Of these, 146 complaints (45%) were about The Kyle & Jackie O Show.
Listeners who wish to complain about material broadcast on radio are required to first complain to the radio station. If complainants are not satisfied with the station’s response, they can then make a complaint to Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma), which has the power to investigate and sanction a show.
The numbers, shared with Guardian Australia, came in response to questions on notice from Greens senator, Sarah Hanson-Young to Nerida O’Loughlin, the chair of the Acma.
The questions followed Hanson-Young quizzing O’Loughlin at a Senate estimates hearing in November, blasting the media regulator for failing to investigate “revolting” material aired on the show, including “sexist, racist [and] misogynistic” content.
During the hearing, O’Loughlin declined to read aloud quotes from the radio show provided by Hanson-Young, declaring she “would not think they were appropriate for parliamentary language”.
“The perpetuation of misogyny, racism and homophobia doesn’t belong on commercial radio or in our homes, workplaces or communities,” Hanson-Young told Guardian Australia this week.
The Kyle & Jackie O Show, hosted by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson, has been running for more than 20 years and has been the top-rating breakfast program in the Sydney market for the last 47 ratings periods. It has also been the source of significant controversy.
The show, broadcast on Kiis FM, is preparing to launch its 2025 season on Monday, with promises Sandilands and Henderson will tone down the offensive content.
Billboards and buses around Melbourne are carrying seemingly tongue-in-cheek advertisements for the show, with the tagline: “Listen Now. We’re Behaving”, accompanied by a winking, tongue-poking-out emoji.
The show has tanked in Melbourne since its April 2024 launch in the Victorian capital. Kiis FM lost 130,000 listeners over the year, and the show fell to eighth place in the breakfast time slot.
Experts told the Guardian a key reason for its lacklustre reception in the tightly held Melbourne radio market was the show’s sexual content.
“They have been far too explicit with their content – it’s been unlistenable for anyone who shares a car ride with their children, which is the Kiis primary demographic,” Craig Bruce, host of Game Changers Radio, said late last year.
A Guardian Australia investigation documented segments over two weeks of listening to the show that mocked Asian people and used derisive language about women and descriptions of aggressive sex, including Sandilands telling Henderson a man should be prepared to “smash you anally” regardless of her politics. The most offensive content involved Sandilands, while Henderson often offered mild protest to his comments about women and sex.
After the Guardian’s report, Sandilands boasted about being able to broadcast sexually explicit content.
“Contrary to popular belief, everything on this show is Australian legal broadcast standard-worthy,” he said on air in an apparent nod to Guardian Australia’s report. “Regardless of [bleeped] or the wackos [bleeped] ever listened or the [bleeped] disturbed, everything you hear is allowed. Just because the other pissants don’t do anything good, doesn’t mean we’re doing anything wrong.”
In a response to the Guardian’s investigation in November, an ARN spokesperson at the time said the company was “committed to delivering content that meets both regulatory standards and audience expectations. We also regularly review our content and take on audience feedback.”
Despite the large volume of complaints made against The Kyle & Jackie O Show last year to Kiis FM’s owner, ARN, very few will likely make it to Acma.
However, as the Guardian’s investigation revealed, just a fraction of complaints made to Acma about The Kyle & Jackie O Show were investigated by the regulator. It launched three investigations between 2019 and 2023, which all resulted in the finding of a breach. Just one resulted in an enforceable action.
Acma revealed in its response to Hanson-Young’s questions that it currently has three investigations open into The Kyle & Jackie O Show, one of which was launched on 18 November 2024, after the Senate estimates hearing.
ARN was contacted for comment.
