Kyle got a $13.6 million settlement. Jackie O is headed for court

Talks between Jackie “O” Henderson and her former employers at KIIS FM have broken down, leaving the radio star headed toward a blockbuster October trial, with the matter due back in court for a hearing on Thursday. While her former co-star Kyle Sandilands reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with KIIS network owner ARN Media on Wednesday, Henderson and the company have not made contact in over a month, according to two people familiar with the situation. Representatives of Jackie “O” Henderson and ARN Media have not made contact in more than a month. Stephen KiprillisThe parties had previously held discussions over the possibility of Henderson hosting another show on the network following her on-air bust-up with Sandilands in February, but there have been no formal settlement talks and contact via intermediaries ceased in mid-May. The breakdown in communication raises the prospect of a high-profile trial set to go ahead as scheduled in October, which would pit Henderson against ARN – with possible assistance for the radio network from its erstwhile legal opponent Sandilands. ARN resolved its battle with Sandilands on Wednesday, when it announced it had reached a $12.09 million cash settlement with the controversial broadcaster, with $3 million payable in July and the balance in monthly instalments until June 2029. Sandilands, who is desperate to return to the airwaves, is chasing independent media opportunities that threaten to drag listeners away from the network. As part of the settlement, ARN will provide his new venture with an additional $1.5 million worth of advertising services on its partner platforms over three years, while receiving 19.9 per cent of any revenue it generates. Sandilands is barred from working with ARN’s direct competitors until March 2027. That amount is far less than the $85 million Sandilands previously sought from the embattled radio network. He and Henderson had been employed on contracts worth $200 million over a decade. The settlement negotiations between Sandilands and ARN advanced late last week, as this masthead foreshadowed on Monday. They involved direct discussions between ARN chairman Hamish McLennan and Sandilands himself, including well into Tuesday evening, said one person familiar with the situation. ARN chief executive Michael Stephenson said that the settlement represented an opportunity for the company to clear the air and move forward. “I think it’s a good outcome for ARN, and it’s an excellent outcome for our shareholders. What this does is give us complete clarity and clean space to go forward and execute our plan,” he said.