The media watchdog has found ‘The Kyle & Jackie O Show’ breached “decency standards”.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) launched a formal investigation into the breakfast radio show after receiving a listener complaint in June.
It has now found segments of the show – hosted by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson – “would be considered offensive to any reasonable person listening to the broadcast”.
Kyle and Jackie O
Sandilands and Henderson host KIIS FM’s weekday breakfast show, which is broadcast in Sydney and Melbourne.
The pair have worked together for more than 20 years. While their show has been consistently successful in Sydney, it has struggled to secure an audience in Melbourne since debuting there in 2024.
Previous comments by Sandilands have been found to have breached decency standards, including discussions of the Paralympics and mpox, and asking a 14-year-old about her sexual experience.
Investigation
Last year, a Melbourne listener complained to ACMA about the content of Sandilands and Henderson’s 7 June show.
“In the first ten minutes they mentioned (and these were the exact words) ‘sucking cock’ ‘licking vagina’ and ‘eating each other out’,” the listener told ACMA.
In response, KIIS told ACMA the discussion “was aligned with the expectations and preferences of the audience... including their contemporary attitudes to sex.”
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Another segment that morning included discussions of sexual activity by listeners, such as one man’s description of “the smell and cleanliness of used sex toys... displayed in his bedroom,” ACMA said.
According to data submitted to ACMA by KIIS, around 20% of Kyle and Jackie O listeners in Melbourne are aged 10 to 17. This figure is slightly lower among its Sydney audience (16%).
However, KIIS said its core audience are “broad minded adults”.
Findings
ACMA found the segments breached the Commercial Radio Code of Practice, because they “offended generally accepted standards of decency,” with “regard to the demographic… of the audience”.
It found the discussions were “lewd and explicit... sustained and vulgar,” despite their “light-hearted” tone.
ACMA did not identify a breach of a seperate standard, that bans programs primarily about sex airing between 6am and 7pm. It accepted KIIS’ defence that the content in question was a few minutes of a four-hour program.
Consequences
In addition to Friday’s findings, two other ACMA investigations into the Kyle and Jackie O show are continuing. These inquiries are examining “possible systemic issues”.
Any penalties relating to the June show will be announced after ACMA wraps up these investigations. This could include fines or legal requirements.
For example, after Sandilands was found to have made “insensitive and disparaging” comments about the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, KIIS was required to hire an additional person to monitor the show’s content for two years.
