Controversial broadcaster Kyle Sandilands said the past couple of weeks have been “traumatic” as he entered the Federal Court on Friday morning for his first hearing against KIIS-owner ARN over the termination of his $100 million contract.
“Wish me luck,” Sandilands told the media before entering the court buildings in Sydney.
ARN terminated Sandilands’ $100 million deal the instant a two-week deadline it had set for him to fix his “serious misconduct” against co-host Jackie “O” Henderson expired.
Sandilands has claimed that his criticism of Henderson on February 20, which reduced her to tears, was no different to many other arguments the pair have had over 27 years of working together and was used as a pretext by radio network ARN to tear up their contracts.
In legal documents to launch his court claim on Monday, Sandilands’ lawyers revealed the radio and television personality receives a $120,000 annual allowance for flights, $500,000 in advertising for his products and a $7.4 million base salary, along with other benefits.
In the court filing, Sandilands’ lawyers wrote: “The exchange was congruent with the style, tone and nature of the Show and the robust character that [ARN] ‘desired’.”
As a result, Sandilands claimed the termination of his contract by ARN was “invalid” because he committed no serious misconduct or breach. If there was a breach, he had no reasonable opportunity to “remedy” it as Henderson’s contract had already been terminated, Sandilands’ lawyers argued.
He says he is still owed upwards of $85 million as part of the deal agreed in 2023, which also included a $200,000 consultancy fee among a series of clauses. His contract also entitled him to sublicencing fees to his company Quasar Media, worth $2 million annually, according to the statement of claim.
Colin Kruger is a senior business reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
