ACMA imposes licence conditions on defunct Kyle and Jackie O show
Kyle and Jackie O at the 2022 ACRAs
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has finally imposed additional licence conditions on the Kyle and Jackie O show. This comes more than four months after the watchdog first declared its intentions to do so — and despite the show being taken off air earlier this month.
The conditions relate to ARN licensees in Sydney and Melbourne, and apply when broadcasting the Kyle and Jackie O Show, or any other program hosted by or featuring Kyle Sandilands or Jacqueline Henderson.
They restrict the show from broadcasting content “which is highly offensive or which contains strong and explicit sexual references by the standards of an ordinary reasonable listener.”
ACMA defines sexual references as including “spoken words and/or sound effects that would be understood by the ordinary reasonable listener as having a sexual meaning.”
In addition to this, ARN must commission an independent audit of the show’s governance framework within six months, and provide ACMA with a board-approved “implementation plan” outlining how it will abide by any recommendations from the auditor. It must also provide yearly written reports on its adherence to the plan for five years.
ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the conditions were imposed because “to date, ARN management have been unwilling or unable to control the content that has gone to air”.
“These additional licence conditions mean further breaches will attract strong enforcement action that was not otherwise available to the ACMA.”
Of course, should Sandilands and Henderson not return to ARN, none of this will be required.
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