Ben Fordham’s $1.5m payday under review in ‘salary reality check’ after Nine Radio is sold to pub baron Arthur Laundy in $56m shake-up

Veteran 2GB breakfast presenter Ben Fordham is set to be at the centre of a major pay shake-up as Channel Nine’s radio arm transitions into new ownership under billionaire pub baron Arthur Laundy.

The Sydney shock jock is expected to be the first big-name talent to enter contract negotiations following the $56million sale of Nine Radio, according to Media Diary, which officially changes hands – and rebrands to Tapt Media – on Friday, May 1.

Insiders say the move could trigger a broader ‘salary reality check’ across the network’s top earners as the business shifts away from Nine’s corporate structure and into the hands of the Laundy family empire.

Fordham, who is understood to be on a deal worth well in excess of $1.5million a year, is due to renegotiate his contract later this year under the new ownership.

While the long-time 2GB host remains one of the network’s most bankable stars, the change in ownership means his unusual dual-income arrangement – previously topped up by Nine’s television division – is now under scrutiny.

Sources claim Fordham has been receiving an additional boost of around $500,000 a year from Nine’s TV arm, despite not being a regular on-screen presence for years.

Much of that cost has reportedly been carried by 60 Minutes, even though Fordham has not been a fixture on the program for over a decade, aside from a loosely associated podcast arrangement.

Whether that so-called ‘cash for no comment’ component survives under the new structure remains unclear – and insiders suggest it is unlikely to continue in its current form.

Fordham, however, is believed to be keen to stay put, despite attracting attention from rival media players looking to reshape their radio line-ups in a post-Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson landscape.

But he is far from the only high-profile figure watching developments closely.

At Tapt Media headquarters in Sydney’s Pyrmont, staff are already talking about a benchmark figure doing the rounds internally – $180,000 – which is the salary of a senior pub manager within the Laundy family business. 

The comparison is reportedly being used to highlight the stark difference between hospitality earnings and the salaries at the top of the radio food chain.

That figure, insiders say, has prompted some uncomfortable conversations among executives now steering the newly acquired network.

At the top end, current Nine Radio managing director Tom Malone and senior executive Greg Byrnes are believed to collectively earn around $1.5million, according to details that surfaced during the sale process.

With a new owner now firmly in place and a hospitality-driven business mindset entering the mix, the era of expansive media-era salaries may be entering a new phase of scrutiny.

It comes after Fordham weighed in on the Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson saga, with his take on where it all went wrong.

The iconic KIIS FM breakfast duo were taken off air in February after Sandilands’ fiery on-air clash with Henderson, with the pair later having their contract terminated by ARN.

In March, Fordham appeared on the Behind the Mic with Mike E podcast and the 2GB breakfast host claimed the pair’s eye-watering contract played a part in the show’s demise.

Sandilands and Henderson signed a whopping 10-year $200million contract with ARN in 2023.

‘I just wonder how much that big 10-year deal played a part,’ he said.

Fordham added that upon hearing the news of the landmark deal, he knew immediately that it would end badly, and that the decade-long deal was potentially more like a millstone for the pair.

‘When it was announced, I was actually walking the dog with my wife, Jodie, and I said to her immediately, ‘Kyle and Jackie O’s 10-year deal, that’s gonna end badly,” he said.