More high-profile companies have withdrawn advertising from the Austereo network's Kyle and Jackie O Show after Kyle Sandilands' on-air rant against a female journalist.

American Express, Ford Australia and Lexus have withdrawn their sponsorship from the show, while mobile device maker BlackBerry has removed advertising from the network altogether, after Sandilands threatened to "hunt down" news.com.au journalist Alison Stephenson.

"Research in Motion and BlackBerry in no way support the comments made by Kyle Sandilands and have thus made the decision to pull all current support from Austereo until further notice," BlackBerry said in a post on its Facebook page.

Supermarket giant Coles has announced it is withdrawing advertising from Austereo's Take40 Australia program, which is hosted by Sandilands.

"Coles wld like to advise we have withdrawn all advertising scheduled 4 Take 40 Show," Coles tweeted.

Some 16 companies have now joined the exodus, including Target, Holiday Inn, Volkswagen, Telstra, Harvey Norman, Fantastic Furniture, Blackmores and Crazy John's.

An online petition demanding that sponsors pull out of the show has almost 20,000 signatures.

Sandilands branded Stephenson "a fat bitter thing", a "fat slag" and a "little troll" after she wrote an article critical of his Seven Network TV show A Night With The Stars.

"Your hair's very 90s. And your blouse ... Change your image girl and watch your mouth, or I'll hunt you down," he said.

Sandilands has apologised to Ms Stephenson but used the free speech defence to justify the rant.

"We live in a country of free speech. You're allowed to say what you want and so am I," he told listeners of The Kyle and Jackie O Show yesterday.

ACMA guidelines Avoid expressions that infer that a person is inferior because she is a woman, or that men have exclusivity.

Avoid expressions that infer that a person is inferior because she is a woman, or that men have exclusivity. Avoid the use of overt sexual references in relation to a woman's physical characteristics which have no relevance to the issue under discussion.

Avoid the use of overt sexual references in relation to a woman's physical characteristics which have no relevance to the issue under discussion. Do not broadcast material which condones or incites violence against women.

However, the broadcasting watchdog does have specific guidelines on the portrayal of women by broadcasters.

The Australian Communication and Media Authority's guidelines say that broadcasters should "ensure that reporting and 'on-air' discussions respect the dignity of women and are non-exploitative".

The ACMA also says that broadcasters should "Avoid the use of overt sexual references in relation to a woman's physical characteristics which have no relevance to the issue under discussion".

Sandilands has said he would continue to attack anyone who criticises him.