A newly surfaced document has shown ARN once defended The Kyle & Jackie O Show’s explicit content, well before claiming that it had cost millions in lost ad revenue for the network.
The document, published by Mumbrella, was sent by the broadcaster to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, in response to a notice to restrict The Kyle & Jackie O Show from making sexually explicit content.
That notice was sent in November, well before the drama erupted over Jackie ‘O’ Henderson’s departure after an on-air spat with Kyle Sandilands, the subsequent axing of the show, and the ongoing legal battle between the co-hosts and ARN.
The notice, per Mumbrella, classified sexual content on The Kyle & Jackie O Show as “spoken words, innuendo and/or sound effects that would be understood by the ordinary reasonable listener as having a sexual meaning”.
But ARN hit back at the notice by arguing it was too broad to be adopted in the show.
Among other defences, ARN claimed that listeners were already accustomed to the show’s vulgar content, that the restrictions were “ambiguous” and could stop the show from “capturing a wide range of content”, and that the ACMA had not given Henderson and Sandilands enough time to adjust to the changes.
“Behavioural change in this context is both complex and sensitive… It is unreasonable to expect that such behavioural and cultural adjustments could be designed, implemented and embedded within three months,” ARN wrote.
The Kyle & Jackie O Show was already pulled off the air by the time the restrictions would’ve come into effect, but ARN’s defence stands in stark contrast to the arguments it has been making more recently as the wrongful termination lawsuit wages on.
Last month, the broadcaster’s CEO Michael Stephenson claimed The Kyle & Jackie O Show’s explicit content had cost the network millions in lost ad revenue, saying at an annual meeting that clients had dipped “because of issues relating to brand safety”.
“There were a number of advertisers who had concerns about the brand safety of some of our content, and as a result, it impacted our revenues through the period,” Stephenson said, adding that he expected revenue to climb back up after the show’s cancellation.
Before that, ARN claimed Sandilands’ behaviour during the on-air argument with Henderson, where he scolded her for her “unworkable” fixation on astrology, amounted to “serious misconduct”.
Last month, Sandilands arrived at the Federal Court to present his case, describing it as a “pretty ugly dispute” and urging to “put me back on the radio”.
Lead images: Instagram
The post Surfaced Document Shows ARN Defending Kyle & Jackie O’s Explicit Content Before Legal Drama appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
