Howard Stern Moving To Satellite Radio

[haVoc 0]

NEW YORK (Oct. 6) - Top-ranked shock jock Howard Stern said Wednesday that he will abandon his syndicated morning radio show to join Sirius satellite radio in 15 months, freeing him from government regulators and allowing him to "bring my fans my show my way.''

 

"I've decided what my future is,'' Stern told his millions of listeners in announcing his five-year, multimillion-dollar contract. "It's not this kind of radio any more.''

 

Stern, who battled for years with the FCC and the religious rights over his salacious show's content, will move to the national distributor of commercial-free music and sport programming when his contract with Infinity Broadcasting expires in 15 months. The deal will allow him to reach every market in the country.

 

"I'm tired of the censorship,'' said Stern, whose show was dropped by media conglomerate Clear Channel Communications in April after the Federal Communications Commission proposed a $495,000 fine against it for comments made by Stern.

 

"The FCC ... has stopped me from doing business,'' Stern said. "Clear Channel, you (expletives), I will bury you.''

 

Like cable television, satellite radio is not subject to federal indecency scrutiny because it is available only to paid subscribers.

 

Stern's show, full of sexually explicit remarks and off-color humor, 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,'' Stern said in a 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.''

 

Earlier this year, Clear Channel Communications dropped Stern from the six markets, including San Diego and Pittsburgh, after complaints from federal regulators. Stern's show often features sexually explicit remarks and off-color humor. In June, Stern announced his show would go on the air in nine new markets owned by Infinity, including four where Clear Channel stations dropped it.

 

Sirius CEO Joseph P. Clayton called Stern "an entertainment force of unprecedented recognition and popularity in the broadcast world.'' Both Clayton and Stern predicted the shock jock will change the face of satellite radio and boost listenership.

 

"Sirius said to me, 'You're our Michael Jordan, you're everything, you're our cornerstone,''' Stern said.

 

Shares of the satellite radio company surged 18 percent on the news. A call to Infinity for comment was not immediately returned.

 

In July, Clear Channel sued Infinity for more than $3 million, claiming Stern broke their contract by violating federal indecency regulations. The lawsuit came in response to a $10 million suit filed by Stern and Infinity after Clear Channel dropped the shock jock.

 

Sirius reaches more than 10 million DISH Network satellite TV and Sirius Satellite Radio subscribers nationwide, providing listeners with over 120 channels of commercial-free music, sports, information and entertainment.

 

Infinity, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc., has about 185 stations in 40 U.S. markets, according to Hoovers.com.

 

10/06/04

 

AOL News

 

I don't even listen to Stern that much anymore. Think he'll lose a lot of his lasting fan base by this move?

[Guest cpac]

I think alot of his loyal fan base will buy into it. I know I am going to.

[B. Brian Brunzell 0]

Meh, I've never cared for Stern all that much. Sometimes it's funny, but after some time the "show us your boobs, ever done anal and ever been with another woman?' schtick becomes tired. At least with Mancow, you get some intelligent discussion from time to time.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I don't listen to him anymore after he went on his Bush-is-the-suq crusade. More power to satellite radio for snagging him, and now Howard can say and do whatever he wants.

 

Although, back when I listened to him, it seemed 1/2 his show was spent bitching about how his GM and Program Manager were holding him down...

[Guest MikeSC]

How can they fit in his ego into their schedule?

 

Now, if only E! would stop lowering themselves by airing his less-funny-than-Full-House show.

-=Mike

[UZI Suicide 0]

How can they fit in his ego into their schedule?

 

Now, if only E! would stop lowering themselves by airing his less-funny-than-Full-House show.

      -=Mike

Yeah, E! should just go ahead and stop airing their highest rated show right?

 

This is the biggest move in Radio history. I'm so glad I bought Sirius last month instead of XM.

[Guest MikeSC]

How can they fit in his ego into their schedule?

 

Now, if only E! would stop lowering themselves by airing his less-funny-than-Full-House show.

      -=Mike

Yeah, E! should just go ahead and stop airing their highest rated show right?

 

This is the biggest move in Radio history. I'm so glad I bought Sirius last month instead of XM.

Well, anything that slashes Stern's audience down a bit more is a good thing.

 

I mean, yeah, it'll be hard to find lesbians willing to strip ON RADIO now...

-=Mike

[UZI Suicide 0]

Yeah, because the entire show is 4 1/2 hours of girls getting naked right?

[Guest MikeSC]

Yeah, because the entire show is 4 1/2 hours of girls getting naked right?

Nope. But it sure isn't 4.5 hours of comedy, either.

 

Nor witty references.

 

Nor remotely competent interviews.

 

He's Jay Leno with foul language.

-=Mike

[UZI Suicide 0]

There is so much funny stuff on there, I really wonder if you ever listen? To say he's Jay Leno with foul language is just a completely misinformed insult. The whole show isn't just him talking about hot chicks, in fact I'd say that barely takes up an hour of the show.

[Guest MikeSC]

There is so much funny stuff on there, I really wonder if you ever listen? To say he's Jay Leno with foul language is just a completely misinformed insult.

I agree.

 

I should apologize to Leno, who has the occasional witty remark.

 

He's Carson Daly with foul language.

 

He ceased being actually funny back in the late 80's.

-=Mike

[1234-5678 0]

I think alot of his loyal fan base will buy into it. I know I am going to.

Can I listen to the show whenever I want, like is there a playback feature? or do you have to listen to it live? Cause I dunno about subscribing when I can only catch about an hour of the show before work.

[UZI Suicide 0]

I think alot of his loyal fan base will buy into it.  I know I am going to.

Can I listen to the show whenever I want, like is there a playback feature? or do you have to listen to it live? Cause I dunno about subscribing when I can only catch about an hour of the show before work.

They're going to replay the show throughout the day for different timezones.

[Ted the Poster 0]

O&A >>> Stern

 

Hell, even Mancow > Stern.

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

If they make a Sirius walkamn, I'll seriously think about getting it, because Howard Stern has been keeping me sane during my commutes to college

[Lil' Bitch 0]

He did what many suggested when he was first fired. Now Stern can do whatever he wants and the FCC can't do shit to him.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

You forgot to add "yet..."

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

FM must fucking die. Way to go, Stern.

[nl5xsk1 0]

I had WBCN on my car this morning while driving to work (technically, it was on while I was switching CDs) and the entire 3-4 minutes that I listened to him was spent with him bitching to some limo driver (at least it sounded like it was a limo driver) about a car. All I could think to myself is, 'People are going to pay to listen to him complain about a car?!?'. All the power to him if the sheep are willing to follow.

 

I personally think his shtick is being done better by other people, and he sounds like an idiot when he bitches about politics and the "government's crusade against him". I'm really looking forward to BCN having something else on in the morning.

 

Meatwad, you speak the truth:

O&A >>> Stern

[the max 0]

It's too bad that O&A are afternoon guys. If they'd make a few changes to their act, they'd be a great morning show. I'd love to have Stephen Lynch song playing on the drive to work.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Like I have said before, pre-anti-Bush crusade, I enjoyed listening to Howard's politics/social commentary. He contradicted himself oodles of times, but it was still interesting and he did make a number of valid points. I now listen to this former top 40 DJ turned right-wing wacko in the mornings, so Howard won't be missed...

[Dr. Tom 0]

Yeah, Stern was OK before he started ranting about the FCC and Bush every day. It just got tiresome to hear him indulge his persecution complex for segments of the show at a time, every morning.

 

While I think Stern is still sometimes funny, he's definitely not as funny as he used to be. It's hard to be a "shock jock" when plenty of other people have copied the act, and people get harder to shock as time goes on. Stern peaked in the late 80s to early 90s, and has been on cruise control ever since.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

The weird thing about it is that Stern is a hard habit to break. They could coast alot longer on personailty than anybody else in radio.

[haVoc 0]

Unlike most morning radio shows, Stern still gets the celebrity guest. People will still listen if he can get idiots like Fred Durst or a Kid rock on there talking about all the female celebrites they've fucked.

[Mole 0]

Stern has been doing the same act everyday for the past whatever years, but for some reason he hasn't become a parody of himself yet.

[Ted the Poster 0]

It's too bad that O&A are afternoon guys. If they'd make a few changes to their act, they'd be a great morning show. I'd love to have Stephen Lynch song playing on the drive to work.

They're a morning show now. 6-10AM.

[The Amazing Rando 0]

I haven't paid to upgrade my XM to the premiums, but i will be soon, I only heard O&A through downloading the last few years (as they are not syndicated around here anywhere) and they are very good at what they do.

 

I'll be shilling out the extra 1.99 soon enough.

[the max 0]

I didn't know they were a morning show.

 

I only got to hear them in the afternoons on WAAF in Boston, and they were VERY good at what they do. Download some of their shows with Stephen Lynch or Jay Mohr making a guest appearance, and you'll be hooked on them for good.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Yeah, Stern was OK before he started ranting about the FCC and Bush every day. It just got tiresome to hear him indulge his persecution complex for segments of the show at a time, every morning.

The thing that botheres me most about his anti-Bush tirades is he always rants & raves about the Republicans being against him, and making releasing his books so difficult ... and his books came out long before W. was in office. I'm not sure if they came out in the Clinton era, or the George I era, but it had NOTHING to do with the present administration.

[The Amazing Rando 0]

I didn't know they were a morning show.

 

I only got to hear them in the afternoons on WAAF in Boston, and they were VERY good at what they do. Download some of their shows with Stephen Lynch or Jay Mohr making a guest appearance, and you'll be hooked on them for good.

they are on XM 202 (High Voltage) and are basically able to do 4 hours a day and it repeats until their next live show. They are supposed to be 6-10 AM but as they said recently... "maybe we'll just do one or two and then say fuck it...and go to afternoon"