Howard Stern rumors

Funny how I heard something about this possibly happening from Cruss at Melissa’s Grandmother’s 94th birthday party. If its true, its sad, I was hoping that it wouldn’t happen till after Christmas so that I could actually hear his first broadcast, if it happens any sooner, I won’t be able to because I won’t be paying for the Sirius radio before December.

Here is the article from CNN.com:

Howard Stern: the end is near?

As the clock ticks down on the Stern’s move to satellite radio, the rumors are swirling.
July 14, 2005: 1:52 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – Wherever Howard Stern is, rumors are never far behind.

This time the radio industry is abuzz with reports that the bawdy talk show host will leave AM-FM radio by Labor Day, a full four months before his contract at Infinity Broadcasting is due to expire.

The ventured reason: September is a crucial ratings period for radio advertising and Infinity won’t be able to sell ads down the road if those ratings are based on a personality who is no longer on the company’s airwaves.

But that’s not all of the Stern buzz these days.

To replace Stern, Infinity has reportedly signed rocker David Lee Roth to replace Stern, who announced last year a five-year, $500 million deal to move his show to subscription-based Sirius Satellite Radio in January. Roth, the solo artist formerly the lead singer of Van Halen, would substitute for Stern at Infinity stations in New York and Los Angeles.

That Roth would fill Stern’s shoes in two Infinity markets supports another speculation: that Infinity, a unit of media giant Viacom (Research), is not looking for one magic bullet to replace Stern but is instead planning to tap multiple personalities for different regions around the country.

Michael Harrison, the publisher of radio industry magazine Talkers, confirmed the whispering but noted that Stern is a master at feeding the rumor mill. Speculation that he would jump to satellite radio had long circulated before he cut his deal with Sirius (Research) last year.

Other longstanding rumors haven’t panned out — not yet anyway. “For years we never knew if he was actually on the verge of getting fired,” said Harrison.

Infinity spokeswoman Karen Mateo has confirmed that the company is talking to many potential replacements, but has said that no announcement about its Stern succession plan is imminent.

Happy to see Stern go?
Stern’s show has been a huge source of revenues for Infinity — attracting, some analysts say, $175 million a year in advertising. Of that, Stern and his sidekicks pocket at least $30 million, according to these estimates.

If Stern is off the air before his contract expires, presumably Infinity would have to pay him for any remaining time left under the contract. There’s been talk as well that Sirius would pay Infinity to release Stern from his contract so it could begin broadcasting “The Howard Stern Show” sooner than January.

Disputes over Stern contracts are not unheard of. When Clear Channel Communications, the country’s No. 1 radio broadcaster, pulled Stern from its stations last year, it stopped paying licensing fees to Infinity. The fracas ended up in court.

Stern, for one, has made it clear that he is ready to go whenever his bosses give the order.

In announcing his defection last October, Stern said he was fed up battling government watchdogs over claims his on-air commentary violates rules barring obscene and indecent programming on public airwaves. The broad crackdown that followed the 2004 Super Bowl broadcast, in which singer Janet Jackson exposed her breast during the live half time show, was the catalyst for Stern.

But it’s clear, too, that relations between Stern and Infinity executives were strained and got noticeably worse after Stern quit. One friction point: Stern’s frequent trumpeting of satellite radio over AM-FM radio after his announced move to Sirius.

The fact that the Stern scuttlebutt is picking up makes sense, said Harrison.

“There’s obviously a tremendous amount of tension between him and Infinity and it’s getting closer and closer to the witching hour where he’s going over to Sirius Satellite Radio,” said Harrison. “So many are watching, from stock watchers to radio programming watchers. It’s ripe for rumors.”

For Infinity, Stern’s departure comes at an especially challenging time. AM-FM radio has been among the slowest-growing media sectors as advertising dollars move to the Internet, cable television and other newer forms of entertainment.

To compete, radio broadcasters like Infinity and Clear Channel Communications (Research) are rejigging programming, experimenting with shorter commercials, and embracing new technologies like high-definition radio and Internet downloads.

Other broadcasters, like Walt Disney (Research), are reportedly looking to sell their radio assets.

Some Wall Street analysts have recently lowered their growth estimates, already in the low-single digits, for radio advertising.

I personally think that they would be stupid to let him go. Here is another article from CNN.com about how much Howard Stern is worth to Infinity Broadcasting:

Pricing Howard Stern

The shock jock has once again run afoul of regulators. At what price does Infinity cut him loose?
July 12, 2004: 2:35 PM EDT
By Krysten Crawford, CNN/Money staff writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – Howard Stern is looking expensive these days. His employer, Infinity Broadcasting Corp., is reportedly facing a whopping $1.5 million fine for an episode on Stern’s morning radio program that included sexual references that government watchdogs say crossed the line.

Congress, meanwhile, is mulling legislation that would boost fines for television and radio programming deemed indecent from $27,500 to as much as $500,000 per violation.

But fans who fear that Stern is about to be muzzled on syndicated radio can relax. Turns out, Stern is a huge cash cow for Viacom unit Infinity.

I wonder which program crossed the line and did I listen to it? Hehe. Good, I hope that they do fine Infinity because they are cowards that run away with their tails between their legs and lost the one personality that is actually bringing them money. I hope they suffer for this for a long time.

Here is another article about how a lot of custermers do not want to purchase Sirius Satellite because Howard Stern is on it.

Here it is, once again from CNN.com:

Hyundai customers say ‘no’ to Stern?

Report: Automaker’s customers don’t want Sirius because they don’t want to listen to the shock jock.
May 13, 2005: 4:21 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – A surprising number of Hyundai customers said they didn’t want Sirius Satellite Radio installed in their vehicles because they objected to Howard Stern, according to an auto news Web site.

The so-called “shock jock” will broadcast on Sirius (up $0.10 to $5.35, Research) Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. beginning in January 2006, said Inside Line, an online news source that is part of Edmunds.com. Edmunds.com is a partner in CNN.com’s automotive news and information channels.

Hyundai recently surveyed 300 to 400 customers as it was deciding whether to choose XM (up $0.02 to $28.26, Research) or Sirius Satellite Radio in as an option for its vehicles. Hyundai ultimately decided to go with XM.

The automaker will roll out a fall program that offers 90 days of free satellite radio programming with its new models, starting with the Santa Fe SUV, and the Sonata and Azera sedans, according to Edmunds.

John Krafcik, Hyundai vice president of product development and strategic planning, told Inside Line that executives were stunned by the number of “unprompted write-ins” on the survey that said customers were “not comfortable with programming from Stern.”

Other automakers, like DaimlerChrysler (up $0.69 to $40.10, Research), still install the Sirius system.

Just like everything else: tv, radio, cable…if you don’t want to see it, who the fuck is holding a gun to your head making you watch it, let alone listen to it you stupid-high strung-ignorant and assholes. Change the fucking channel and look for something else. Cocksuckers!

Sorry, people just piss the hell out of me when they are so ignorant.

–Socram

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