I wonder if Kyle was referring to Duncan or Ciaran? Given that Duncan is no longer at ARN…
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I agree. That contract is going to sink the company eventually.
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If that claim was to be made in any other industry, I’m almost certain the ACCC would get involved as it is ambiguous and somewhat confusing for the consumer (or listener in this case).
It is ridiculous that stations get away with such claim of being Number One (meaning “most popular” according to a source).
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That should have been done after the demise of 4KQ ideally but of course it didn’t happen 
Melbourne doesn’t want a Sydney Breakfast show. End of story!
Stop trying to make K&J a thing… it’s never going to happen.
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Summed up very well.
Rather than have ARN flog a dead horse, why not let the listeners have their say. After all, without them, you have no station.
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Kyle should’ve gone national? Had that have happened, this is what would’ve happened.
96fm Perth would’ve been fully KIIS-ified. The music would’ve no longer been Classic Hits, and would’ve been all-in Sydney/Melbourne KIIS Top 40 CHR music format. Kyle & Jackie O in the morning (on a 2-hour delay in Perth during AEST, 3-hour delay during AEDT, 6am-10am AWST). 96fm would’ve rebranded to KIIS 96.1 and the programming would’ve all come from Sydney/Melbourne, including the daytime shifts.
Mix 102.3 Adelaide would’ve been fully KIIS-ified, in terms of music. Their branding is already KIIS, but the music format would’ve been that of the Sydney/Melbourne KIIS Top 40 CHR formula, and Kyle & Jackie O would’ve been on for Breakfast, on a 30-min delay. The local brekky program at the time would’ve been booted from the timeslot, and all programming would’ve come from Sydney/Melbourne, including the daytime shifts.
KIIS 97.3 Brisbane was already becoming KIIS-ified altogether. Much of their programming already comes out of Sydney/Melbourne. Robin & Kip would’ve been sacked from ARN and that timeslot would’ve been taken up by Kyle & Jackie O (live during AEST, on a 1-hour delay during AEDT, at 6am-10am).
In reality this is what we got back…
- Jase & Lauren were sacked by ARN in 2023 to make way for K&J the next year.
- Zach & Dom were sacked this year as part of Cost-Cutting measures.
- The daytime shifts started being networked from Sydney into Melbourne and Brisbane in 2024, which saw Gordie take over the slots previously occupied by local presenters.
- Mitch Churi was sacked by ARN at the end of 2024, leaving 3pm Pick Up co-hosts Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne to host their show without Churi, even tearing up on-air when the news broke.
This was all done at the behest of K&J. What a mess ARN has become as a result.
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I don’t think K&J “ordered” all of this as such, more like they are decisions made by ARN to find a way to pay their exorbitant salaries.
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K&J going national from Day 1 would’ve absolutely killed ARN for sure.
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What’s astonishing is what you’ve outlined is only half the story with Gold also being significantly impacted (e.g., daytime is now also networked) to the point where the cost-cutting impacts has become a semi-frequent topic of conversation on Christian O’Connell’s show.
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He is getting quite snarky about about it too. It’s quite funny but sometime cringeworthy.
Getting free bread brought in fortnightly and now complaining about the lack of milk.
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He didn’t have to sign a multi-million dollar contract either, yet here we are.
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They probably will be before the end of this year if their ratings don’t improve 
They’re rating higher than K&J in Melbourne.
Does that mean K&J might also be axed from KIIS101.1?
Oh wait, they’re immune.
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That’s right, just like Kyle, doesn’t he have national ambitions as well. If all went to plan for ARN and they ended up with Triple M, I am sure he would jump at the chance to do a multi-market breakfast show which would have presented ARN the opportunity to make cuts and sack multiple people.
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KIIS Dance
… what is this going to do to the other KISS Dance narrowcaster?
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Uh-oh! I hope the “Real” KISS FM Dance Music Australia" orders a cease and desist letter to ARN to stop using the “KIIS Dance” trademark. The reason why Edge 96.1 and its associated DAB+ stations changed to CADA was because there was already an Edge FM in Hobart (where one of ARN’s DAB+ stations are located) and they didn’t want a lawsuit from them. ARN could offer KISS FM Dance Music Australia $$$$$$ to change their name (as what happened when the then owners of KA-FM offered 5MMM-FM (now Three D Radio) a huge amount of money to change their name so that KA-FM can use the Triple M brand in Adelaide).
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big bad ARN was scared of a little community radio station in Hobart? 
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IIRC ARN already settled out of court with Kiss FM. There were articles before KIIS launched that Kiss FM were going to sue, and I vaguely recall some settlement/agreement.
No doubt that agreement probably gave them the flexibility to use KIIS (including with the word Dance) anyway they want.
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In the first five months of 2025, ARN shed ad revenue to its competitors in metro markets, and it is $6 million (or 13 per cent) worse off compared with the same period last year, according to the unpublished Guideline SMI figures.
The article highlights job losses as a result of the contract (and suggests that contract negotiations with Jack Post on Gold fell over as part of cost cutting), is critical of the confused messaging of the three campaigns (eg, were behaving back to radio gone rogue) and that the Brisbane roll out will happen next year.
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