The wolves – or in this case, the witches – have begun circling ARN, following the broadcaster’s announcement that Karl Stefanovic and Eddie McGuire will co-create The Long Weekend, a new weekly news, sport and entertainment format launching on 19 June.
Lobby group MFW, widely viewed as a key force behind advertiser pressure during the brand-safety crisis surrounding The Kyle and Jackie O Show, has now warned ARN that it will closely monitor the new program and may launch further boycott campaigns if concerns arise.
In a statement provided to Mediaweek, an MFW spokesperson said:
“MFW will monitor the new radio show when it starts, to assess whether the content is within the parameters of what’s acceptable broadcasting. If it’s not acceptable or becomes unacceptable in future, we’ll start a consumer boycott campaign to object to any misogynist, racist or otherwise offensive content.”
The spokesperson also confirmed the group had previously engaged directly with ARN during the fallout surrounding Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson.
“We met with ARN to discuss how to ensure Sandilands’ broadcasting behaviour might be permanently improved, and the only reason the discussions didn’t continue was that Kyle and Jackie were taken off-air.”
MFW also took direct aim at ARN’s appointment of McGuire.
“We feel ARN bringing Eddie McGuire on board is potentially foolish and risky, as McGuire’s repeated past transgressions show he didn’t appear to learn how and why his past behaviour was so offensive, and if that’s true, he may be unable to curb any similar unacceptable behaviour in future.”
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‘We are listening’
The group, which previously mobilised campaigns targeting advertisers linked to controversial media personalities and brands, posted to its Facebook page following the announcement:
“If you weren’t around MFW back then, here’s what happened to McGuire in 2021 after thousands and thousands of witches furiously wrote to Collingwood’s sponsors when he failed to respond appropriately to an important race issue at the Club (and following much other f**kery on his part over a number of woeful years for him):
“Here’s the thing. We won’t let Eddie Everywhere go back to his old days of racist and misogynistic content, and we definitely won’t let Stefanovic wander down that road either.
“So this decision to employ this pair on ARN’s part seems … brave.
“Or maybe just stupid.
“Particularly regarding McGuire, who for some years only seemed to open his mouth to change feet.
“All we can say about this new broadcast is … witches will be watching. And listening.”
Fallout from the Kyle and Jackie O crisis
The warning comes just months after ARN publicly acknowledged the financial impact of advertiser concerns tied to The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
At the company’s AGM earlier this year, ARN Media CEO Michael Stephenson revealed that brand safety concerns linked to the program contributed to $26.4 million in lost metro and regional revenue during FY25.
The broadcaster said the losses included $22 million in metro radio revenue and a further $4.4 million in regional revenue, largely attributed to national advertisers pulling campaigns from ARN assets.
The admission was particularly notable given ARN had been paying Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson a reported combined $20 million annually under the network’s long-term talent deal.
ARN is now engaged in legal proceedings following the termination of both Sandilands’ and Henderson’s contracts and the collapse of the show.
Despite the fallout, Stephenson told shareholders the company expected advertiser confidence to return.
“We expect a significant percentage of the $26m of revenue that was lost last year because of brand safety concerns to return, improving both our metro radio revenue and revenue share,” he said.
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