For years now, Howard Stern has been “woke.” He’s used his SiriusXM show to talk about politics, and he’s been an enthusiastic supporter of Democratic candidates for many years. He begged Hillary Clinton for an interview for a long time, and she finally agreed and it was lovely (and one of her best interviews, honestly). Last year, Stern interviewed Kamala Harris and it was another great interview. You get the idea – he’s like the anti-Joe Rogan these days. Stern is basically an institution for radio/SiriusXM. But according to the Sun, Stern will probably let his contract run out because SiriusXM doesn’t want him enough to give him a large contract renewal. Something something Stephen Colbert and the current political climate.
The iconic Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM is set to be canceled after a stunning 20-year run, sources exclusively told The U.S. Sun. Stern, 71, who has had a mega-bucks contract for decades at the subscription satellite radio provider, will likely cut some sort of deal for Sirius to keep his catalogue upon his exit, sources said.
“Stern’s contract is up in the fall and while Sirius is planning to make him an offer, they don’t intend for him to take it,” one insider said of the impending end to the shock jock’s latest five-year contract. “Sirius and Stern are never going to meet on the money he is going to want. It’s no longer worth the investment.”
The insider added that fans may expect Sirius to strike a deal for his library.
“But as far as him coming back to doing the show, there’s no way they can keep paying his salary,” the source said. “After you saw what happened with Stephen Colbert, it’s like they just can’t afford to keep him going.”
Another source said Stern’s political leanings are also not working in his favor. “If Sirius isn’t going to give Stern a good offer, I don’t think it would have anything to do with his ratings,” the source claimed. “It’s more likely everything to do with the political climate.”
I was curious so I looked up Stern’s most recent shows on YouTube – maybe the clips aren’t showing the whole picture, but it does not seem like Stern is ranting 24-7 about politics at all. All of his interviews in recent months have been with actors and comedians. Stern’s show is a legitimate stop for people on promotional tours – Pamela Anderson was one of his most recent guests, for goodness sake. My point is that “Stern is woke, that’s why he’s being let go” doesn’t make any sense. And if his ratings are still really high, what does it even matter? I wonder if all of this is a negotiation tactic from both sides, honestly.
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You can stream anything you want in your car with cellular network connection now. So it’s the satellite radio that is a dying business model. There’s no future in satellite radio, because you don’t need to spend the money to put satellites in low orbit anymore. On top of that, radio is dead. It’s been bought out and homogenized by large corporations. Howard is the last great, mainstream radio talent. Say what you will about his content over the decades (a lot of it is too much for me, especially since being able to work without a censor), but he is a great interviewer. I think it’s more likely that Sirius/XM sees their own end in sight, and they can’t afford Howard.
The only interesting radio content is what’s on NPR and small local public stations, where real people (not algorithms) do the programming. My personal favorites, which I have to now donate more $$$ to each year because the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was defunded: KEXP Seattle; WNYC New York: WLIR Long Island.
Oops! I meant WLIW Long Island – the NPR station, not the old alternative rock station that used to be on the radio dial.
Politics aside, your market share is shrinking, your star is 71 and has less original output per year than an average podcast. That’s not a great return on what has been 8 and 9 figure contracts in the past. I could see Sirius/XM licensing Stern’s library and a limited number of special interviews like Letterman has done at Netflix.
Howard no longer discusses politics and hasn’t in quite a while. Also imho he is not a great interviewer. Marc Maron and Conan have much more interesting conversations with the same people than I’ve heard Howard do. They actually listen to what is being said and have a conversation and don’t interrupt/talk over the guest.
Even if he were a good interviewer, his claim to fame is reducing all women to their body parts. He is definitely part of the filth that allowed the current administration to get where it is. He’s a great example of using shock as a replacement for actual talent. He can kick rocks and never be seen or heard from again as far as I am concerned.
I say this with peace and love, peace and love (stern fans will get it). Podcasts have completely taken his audience. The guests that Smartless and Good Hang with Amy Poehler are pulling are A plus plus. And their staff situation is small beans compared to his overhead.
I use to watch his show on E, and yes I found it hilarious, but I was a teenager. His wife Beth rescues cats, so I can’t hate them, and he’s mellowed out and is no longer in his shock jock era.