Posted on 10/06/2004 6:39:04 AM PDT by Silver Bird Worker
Controversial radio host Howard Stern will move his show to Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. in 2006, in an expensive gamble for the fledgling satellite broadcasting service.
Terms of the five-year deal weren't disclosed, but Sirius said it would spend $100 million a year to produce the show, including Mr. Stern's salary. Mr. Stern's contract with Viacom Inc. expires at the end of 2005.
Mr. Stern's show corners the radio market among males 18-49 years of age and ranks No. 1 in many of the 46 major markets where his show is broadcast.
"It has been my dream to have the top-rated show in radio since I was five years old," Mr. Stern said in a prepared statement. "Sirius -- the future of radio -- will take this dream to a whole new level as I bring my fans my show my way. It will be the best radio they will ever hear."
Sirius is betting big on Mr. Stern. The company revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday that its deal with Mr. Stern includes both cash and stock, and said it must make "substantial" stock payments if subscriber targets are exceeded. Sirius will also share a portion of advertising revenue with Mr. Stern once subscriber milestones are reached. Currently, Sirius provides commercial-free music and sports programming.
The company warned that it would need to generate an additional one million subscribers to cover the cost of bringing Mr. Stern on board. If it doesn't, the deal could have a "material negative impact" on the company's financial condition, Sirius said. As of June 30, 2004, Sirius had 480,341 subscribers, up 37% from first-quarter levels.
Sirius shares soared in early trading, jumping 65 cents, or 20%, to $4 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
In a press released headlined "The Most Important Deal in Radio History," Sirius said it negotiated the five-year, "multi-million dollar" agreement with Don Buchwald, who represents Stern.
The agreement comes as the ever-controversial Mr. Stern was dropped earlier this year from some radio stations over his raunchy humor. Mr. Stern's future at Viacom has been up in the air for some time. Mel Karmazin, a fierce defender of Mr. Stern in the face of the government pressure, left as Viacom's president earlier this year.
As programming on regular terrestrial radio runs afoul of the Federal Communications Commission in its crackdown on indecent broadcasting, many hosts in hot water have cited satellite radio as a possible haven.
Over the summer, Sirius's archrival, XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., signed Bob Edwards, the original anchor of National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," to host a show. XM also hired Greg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia, a pair of radio "shock jocks" fired by Infinity Broadcasting Inc., the first instance of satellite radio providing a safe harbor for broadcasters deemed too raunchy for the public airwaves.
Howard is 50 years old and has become what he used to ridicule.
Really? In what way?
Oh, a satellite radio service. I was hoping this meant Howie was going to another star system.
Oh good -- does this mean he'll stop patheticallyl whining about how he's being "censored" by the "administration"?
By the way, since you don't know the first thing about me or what I do for a living, I don't know what basis you have for assuming you make more than I do. You might be surprised.
Stern's contract will have loads of escape clauses. Sirius will never end up paying Stern the money being discussed. The listener numbers and revenue just won't support such a generous deal for Stern. It *may* last a year then crash and burn. Stern is old enough, wealthy enough, to not not care if this deal goes caput after 6 months.
Something like that has already been pulled from the market due to complaints by the recording industry.
Half his show is complaining about th FCC and the goverment. What's he going to do now??
Oh well. I'll miss artie but I doubt I'll get satellite radio
BFD
I'll take Arty ofver Jackie...........
Oh yeah! I'm with you. I love Artie. He relates very well to all of us regular working class guys.
Jackie was hilarious, I hope he returns. Howard was mentioning that his "channels" will be on 24/7. This means that there will be far more developed than just his 4 hours in the morning.
We'll have great new shows, music, comedy, talk, who knows what else...............
3 satelite channels, 24/7 - all produced by the genius of Howard Stern.
The more I think about it, the more excited I become.
Yeah, same thing happened when VCR's hit the market.
The "recording industry" is a dinosaur.
I believe they will embrace the change in time.
You forgot the your sarcasm tag.
Now Stern/Sirius thinks that asking customers to pay for his program will increase his market share?
Either Sirius has lower expectations for Stern ratings, or Sirius has lost their mind.
You forgot the your sarcasm tag.
What sarcasm?
Whether people like it or not, this is the future.
I love it.
Stern's steadily lost market share for years.
When did you stop listening?
An XM receiver for my computer?
Why, tell me more!
The end of Sirius
I wasn't going to post it in my previous post to you, but after reading this typical Tulane graduate comment, I've got to say it. TOOLAME SUX!
Sincerely, LSU. :oP
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