The Guardian can reveal that almost half of all complaints about etiquette standards at Australian radio stations last financial year were about The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

In the 2023-2024 financial year, radio stations across Australia received 321 complaints about "material not suitable for broadcast". Of those, 146 complaints (45%) were related to The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

Listeners who wish to complain about content broadcast by a radio station must first complain to the radio station. If complainants are unhappy with a station's response, they can complain to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma), which has the power to investigate and sanction programmes.

The figures were shared with Guardian Australia in response to a notification question raised by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young to Acma chair Nerida O'Loughlin.

Hanson-Young grilled O'Loughlin at a Senate budget hearing in November, accusing media watchdogs of failing to investigate "objectionable" material aired on the show, including "sexism, racism (and) misogyny" ” content and then raised these questions.

During the hearing, O'Loughlin refused to read aloud quotes from the radio show provided by Hanson-Young, declaring that she "did not consider them appropriate to the language of parliament".

"The persistence of misogyny, racism and homophobia has no place in commercial broadcasting or in our homes, workplaces or communities," Hanson-Young told Guardian Australia this week.

The Kyle & Jackie O Show, hosted by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson, has been running for over 20 years , has been the most-watched breakfast program in the Sydney market for the past 47 viewing cycles. This has also been the source of major controversy.

The show, which airs on Kiis FM, prepares to launch its 2025 season on Monday, with Sandilands and Henderson promising to reduce offensive content.

Advertisements for the show, which appear to be tongue-in-cheek, have been plastered on billboards and buses across Melbourne, with the slogan: "Listen now. We're doing great", accompanied by winking, tongue-out emojis.

The show has underperformed in Melbourne since its launch in April 2024 in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state. Kiis FM lost 130,000 listeners over the year, with the show falling to eighth in the breakfast slot.

Experts told the Guardian that a key reason for the show's poor reception in the competitive Melbourne broadcast market was the show's sexual content.

"Their content is too explicit - it's unacceptable for people traveling in cars with their children, who are the main audience for Kiis," Game Changers Radio host Craig Bruce said last year expressed at the end of the year.

An investigation by Guardian Australia documented more than two weeks of listening to clips from the program that mocked Asians, used language that mocked women and made aggressive descriptions, including Sandiland telling Henderson that no matter she Regardless of your political stance, men should be prepared to "break your asshole." The most offensive content involved Sandilands, and Henderson often raised mild objections to his comments about women and sex.

After the Guardian report, Sandilands boasted about its ability to stream sexually explicit material.

"Contrary to popular belief, all elements of this program comply with legal Australian broadcasting standards," he said on air, in an apparent nod to Guardian Australia's reporting. “Whether (beep) or crazy (beep) ever heard it or (beep) was disturbed, everything you hear is allowed. Just because other people aren’t doing anything good, doesn’t mean we Did something wrong."

In a response to a Guardian investigation in November, an ARN spokesperson said at the time that the company was "committed to delivering content that meets both regulatory standards and audience expectations". We also regularly review our content and accept feedback from our viewers. "

Despite numerous complaints about the Kyle & Jackie O Show last year from Kiis FM owner ARN, few have made it to Acma.

However, as the Guardian's investigation revealed, the watchdog only investigated a fraction of the complaints made to Acma about the Kyle and Jackie O Show. It launched three investigations between 2019 and 2023, all of which found violations. Only one of them resulted in actionable action.

In response to questions from Hanson-Young, Acma revealed that there are currently three ongoing investigations into The Kyle & Jackie O Show, one of which was launched following the Senate Estimates Hearing on November 18, 2024.

CNN has contacted ARN for comment.