How big are Howard Stern's ratings?
(Credit:
Steve Guttenberg)
Stern loves to count the 20 million Sirius XM subscribers as listeners, and his rabid fan base believes him!
Come on, that's a huge stretch, even for the former "King of all Media." Intentionally equating potential audience with actual listeners is classic Stern BS. The former King never made another movie or wrote another book. He's the King of Satellite Radio, and he works for a company that NEVER posted a profit during his reign (it continues to post losses every quarter). Sirius XM stock has been lingering around thirty-three cents a share for the past month or so.
I'm just waiting for Stern to advise his buddy, Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin, to boost profitability by eliminating all of the other channels. Stern is the big draw, so why waste resources with all those other channels? I wonder how fast the 20 million number would plummet.
Before the Sirius XM merger "Daily News" writer David Hinckley reported that "Arbitron has released its first-ever ratings for XM and Sirius, covering April-June 2007, and they show that in an average week, 1,225,000 listeners at some point heard Stern." That's the TOTAL for the week, so at any given moment, Stern has maybe a few hundred thousand listeners. Anyway you look at it, that's a sorry ratings number for the former terrestrial radio god.
Arbitron also said that one other satellite channel--XM's "Top 20 on 20" - topped a million during that April-June 2007 ratings period. Since Sirius XM doesn't release its internal ratings, we don't have any way to verify Stern's claims, or other satellite radio shows' numbers.
On today's show Stern admitted that, yes, he has fewer listeners than he did when he was on terrestrial radio, but wouldn't go so far as to say lots of terrestrial radio personalities have far more listeners than he does now.
The current terrestrial radio talk show mega star is Rush Limbaugh; he boasts a weekly rating of 14.75 million listeners.
Stern rules his smaller satellite radio universe and collects a big, fat paycheck for doing so. Good for him, but I'm so tired of his endless self-promotion, and putting down others, like today's dissing of Conan O'Brien's move to the "Tonight Show."
Face it, Stern's creative peak was decades ago. He used to be a very funny guy; now he's just a very rich man.
Steve Guttenberg is a frequent contributor to magazines and Web sites including Home Entertainment, Playback, and Ultimate AV. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
First off his show his 10 times better than it ever was on TR. He breaks for commercials once an hour for about 3 minutes. His content and guests are free to speak like normal people do these days- not using the F word every sentence but being able to express normal thoughts that people have without the FCC finsing them every 5 seconds. His interviews are insanely funny and delve into guests live like no one else can and his wack pack- the most incredibly ingenious cast of characters ever along with Richard and Sal are able to pierce the bounderies of comedy like never before. Its just plain entertaining as hell. And no he never ever ever claims that all 20 million subscribers listen to him. What you fail to grasp is that its not about numbers of listeners. And its certainly not about the company's stock, that, quite frankly a management issue. No it's about how many people will pay to listen to him, which exactly what the TR business is also. If he is so relevant why is TR tanking right now? And if he is so irrelevant why are TR execs throwing offers at him every week to come back? Why? Because he made that business what it was.
Hey if you're not a fan Steve I understand but get the fact straight. Sirius started with 385,000 subscribers paying 13.95 per month. Now they have 20 million paying 13.95 per month. Even if only 1.25 Million customers buy Satellite for Stern, that works out to $205 Million per year. Minus his 100 m Contract , sounds to me like Sterns profited them 105 M per Year. Right? Yes.
Oh and thats Why Howard Takes Home 70 Mil and Rush with all his 14.50 Mil listeners gets about 30 Million.
Apparently you pay the $13.95.
As for "self Promotion" cmon now. Rush is the worst.
"While XM does offer some audience data from a custom Arbitron report, Scott Greenstein, president-entertainment and sports at Sirius, said Sirius has hired a third-party research company to get audience data on "certain things our advertisers would need." The third-party data, culled from the unnamed research company, shows that 58% of subscribers listen to Howard Stern during the week. "
Similarly, The New Yorker a while back published an article about the real wealth of Donald Trump, and concluded a) he is probably worth no more than $100-150 million, if that much (he regularly states his own net worth to be around $5 billion) and b) he's doing TV because he needs the money--he ain't slumming.
Even the vaunted Forbes 400 list is built on air--the estimates are in some cases quite good, but in many cases they're just wild guesses. In some cases the editors simply ask the subjects and take them at their word. That gives a wide-open door to the Sterns and Trumps of the world, and others who are willing to tell brazen fibs meant only to inflate themselves. Works both ways on that list, too--there are plenty of superrich who would rather not have their wealth known.
Skepticism about all such matters makes good sense, especially in the case of known self-aggrandizers.
Blue Mikey
Sterns real estimate toward people listening is somewhere around the 6m mark. He came to this figure from the upsurge in subscribers BEFORE he joined Sirius and the numbers AFTER. Considering at the time there was no better way to come up with a listener figure this seemed like a logical assumption.
Stern is not the same person he was years ago. Much less adolescent antics and more intelligent banter and just plain funny talk. You should really listen to him instead writing from hearsay and twisting what he really says.
Steve, I wouldn't be surprised if you get a reaction from Stern which will only help your career. I personally know that you are not interested in posting facts and likewise won't be reading any of your future columns.
"If they hate him, then why do they listen?"
"Most common answer given ,'I want to hear what he'll say next.'"
Why does a "so called Audophile Blog "spend so much time dissing Stern ???
Steve if your such an Audiophile why listen Sirius at all except for Howard the audio quailty blows !!
There are like 500 FREE internet stations that with a decent DAC will give you a "Sirius" quality listening experiance.
I guess we need Krell to come out with some $ 40 K amp so we can get back to what this blog is REALLY about ???
Exactly, but why would the guy who wrote this article bother to do any research.
As far as creativity goes? I have been listening to Stern off and on for 20+ years and his show is hands down, no question, now better then ever.
- by WARP718 June 13, 2009 11:53 PM PDT
- WOW THE REVIEWER IS NOT A STERN FAN-that's obvious
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