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.
I've got it and it's great.
Could be. But it is definitely Sirius. And that is hugh.
translation: "Ignorant of the fact that FCC decency regulations have been the only thing that stands between me and self-destruction, I will now proceed to blow myself up. this is be the most prurient slop ever heard on radio."
GOOD RIDDANCE. Look at what I found on his website,,LOL..hysterical!
Hey Now!
Anyone who listens to the show knows how I feel about Bush and his buddies taking the country down the toilet.
The show is under siege. Stem cell research is stifled. Free speech is endangered. The environment is being ruined. Court appointments, the freedom to have an abortion and everything that makes our country great are about to be compromised for the next four years.
You have the power to change all of these things by voting on Election Day, but you cannot do that unless you are registered to vote. Please take the time to register right now, so all Howard Stern fans can unite and tell the President we don't want him in office anymore. Kick his frigging ass out of office and send him back to the ranch where he spends most of his time anyway.
We can not sit by while our country, its borders, airports and ports are no safer than before 9-11. Iraq is a mess and Osaka Bin Laden still walks the earth. We have never taken a back seat in any election. I've always spoken openly about my support for Bill Clinton, the great Governor George Pataki, Christy Todd Whitman, Senator D'Amato and Mayor Guilliani.
Please join me in changing our country for the better. I'm not a democrat and I'm not a republican, I'm an independent thinker who sees the writing on the wall for this radio show and this country. Vote Kerry. If you are thinking of voting for Bush you don't need to register here but if you are leaning toward Kerry please consider voting with us. Use this registration process to stand up for the show and the country.
Your Pal,
Howard
BWHAAAA
Here read this:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1176294/posts
DIRECT LINK TO ARTICLE>
http://www.trentonrevolution.com/stern_files.html
You mean we have to wait eight and a half years to hear him?
I threw that in there just to get a rise out of the jackhole that stated (in effect) that I was a scumbag.
Do you live on Melpomene?
Was I right, BTW? Are you a Greenie? After a few years of sparring on various internet football/sports boards, my husband and I have befriended a few. If you haunt any of the LSU/Tulane battleground boards, you've probably seen my husband's posts.
Uhhhh..............
Thanks for the link?
While I can appreciate the opinion of the blogger,
I disagree.
My opinion matters most, to me.
STERN RULES
100% Correct!
Love him or hate him, his listeners are fanatics.
Anyone predicting failure will quickly be proven wrong.
"F" Jackie!
I have XM
"Losers who listen to Stern"
Dude, I hate Stern because of his support for Kerry (and his increasingly boring programming), but a couple of hard-core Bush supporters at work, with stickers on their car and everything, listen to Stern on the ride in. There's never any music on any of the stations, and Stern's a humor show. My Bush-supporting, and voting, co-workers aren't losers for being regular Stern listeners.
"F" Jackie!
Ha!
I predict Jackie Jokeman will be back on Howard's team in some capacity, even on a different show.
If only Hank the Dwarf were alive to see this........
I DO miss Hank (RIP).
I've listened to Howard since WNBC and it looks like I'll be a satellite radio subscriber by late next year.
Now maybe he'll stop whining about the government and just be funny again.
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