Is Stern worth his millions?

On Friday, Howard Stern will sign off from the FM radio medium he's dominated for decades, as he readies his highly profitable shock-jock brand for a launch into space in January.

When Stern goes live as expected on the Sirius Satellite Radio network on Jan. 9, it will certainly mark one of the biggest shakeups the radio world has seen in years and potentially provide an extraordinary shot in the arm for the nascent satellite radio industry.

News.context

What's new:
Sirius Satellite Radio gambles that shock jock Howard Stern is worth his $500 million paycheck.

Bottom line:
The news has already boosted Sirius subscriptions, but the service has to attract a lot more subscribers and retain advertisers to cover the costs.

More stories on satellite radio

From Sirius' perspective, it had better. The young company, which has yet to turn a profit since launching its service in 2002, has agreed to pay Stern $500 million over five years to transform his show into two channels broadcasting around the clock. Some of that will go into production costs and the other salaries associated with his show.

Subscriptions, which typically cost $12.95 per month, will have to jump to justify that monster contract--Sirius executives say they need 1 million new subscribers, above and beyond what they would otherwise have drawn, to pay for the deal. No doubt about it: Sirius has all but bet its future on Stern.

That 1 million figure is rough at best, but it takes into account average subscriber fees per month of about $10.81 (lower than retail price, due to promotions and rebates) and an average monthly churn, or cancellation rate, of 1.8 percent, according to the company's latest earnings release. To get there, the New York-based satellite radio network is counting on a sizable portion of Stern's 8 million to 12 million listeners to follow their radio Pied Piper to the subscription service.

Sirius executives already have some reason for optimism. Subscriptions have tripled since Stern announced his defection from Infinity Broadcasting a year ago, from about 700,000 in October 2003 to more than 2.1 million today. And the network thinks Stern is the right bet to help it close the gap against its rival XM Radio, which currently reaches about twice as many people.

Listen up

Only a few more weeks before Howard Stern moves to the Sirius Satellite Radio network. CNET News.com's Charles Cooper, John Borland and Harry Fuller debate whether CEO Mel Karmazin is crazy like a fox--or simply crazy.
Listen now... (9.5MB mp3)

Indeed, at the beginning of 2005 the company predicted it would reach 2.5 million subscribers by the end of this year. Now it's instead on track to reach more than 3 million by the end of the year, according to the company's latest earnings release.

"We're not putting a number on it, but we do believe that if he hasn't already paid for himself, then he has contributed a tremendous amount of subscription growth over the last year," said Sirius spokesman Jim Collins.

Under current projections, analysts say it shouldn't be hard for Stern to pay for himself.

"I think it will turn out to be a very astute investment by Sirius," said Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett. "The value of what (Sirius has) already gotten from him in promotional appearances alone is worth tens of millions of dollars in free advertising."

In a recent research note, Friedman Billings Ramsey stock analyst Maurice McKenzie said he expected Stern to draw about 1.5 million new subscribers for Sirius, weighted heavily toward the last quarter of this year, and the first quarter of next, when the buzz around the shock jock's defection is peaking.

[damonmcdaniel]

Stern & Sirius

If Sirius were in their right mind - they wouldn't have Howard Stern as their standard bearer. I personally would consider it torture to have to listen to Stern and that's even if they paid me the subscription fee 100 times over! And the numbers, may give them a slight boost, but seems like if numbers are what they are chasing - they would go for conservative talk radio with numbers like 50 million daily listeners.
Limbaugh alone has 20-25 mil and there's also Hannity, Beck, Savage, Reagan, O' Reilly, Ingram ..........where do I stop? If Sirius were serious - they go after the main stream in America, not the fringe kook left.

[bobj123]

Jerry Springer of Radio

Howard has always been blunt. Although his mind has also been fixated toward how every guy thinks, sex-related. I am no fan of Stern nor do I hate his antics, but his show is interesting to listen to. It shows how much America has changed on the radio and on televsion. To many restrictions if I do say so myself, need to be more open minded just like the European market.

[Earl Benser]

Stern isn't worth a nickel....

... as far as I'm concerned. He was a disgrace to terrestrial radio,
and elevating his location isn't likely to elevate his value or
significance.

But all that is somewhat academic. Now that I have MP3's I can
play at home, in the car, and where ever else I might be, radio is
no longer of any interest to me, free or otherwise. So with a
worthless media, and an even more worthless 'personality' on
that media, maybe even a nickel is a gross overvaluaton.

People really pay for this stuff: It's free in the gutters.

Rather than pay for Stern's garbage. This stuff is available for free in the gutters and slums. Why don't you just the people there, it would be better than giving the money to Stern.

Where are values going?

[blissitt]

For all his faults...

For all Howard Stern's faults, he does a great service to society as a whole in his discussion of the life-long harms of forced circumcision of infants. I wish Mr. Stern continued good luck with his show and his efforts on behalf of children.

-Robert
www.luckystiff.org

Please also visit:
google.com: "circumcision"
www.circumcision.org
www.jewishcircumcision.org
www.norm.org (foreskin restoration)

[kartbart]

Garbage in and plenty of scum following it

Stern has a "shock" factory precisely because of FCC. Sirus doesn't get it. Without the FCC there is no shock. The show will rapidly slide into indecency and sewage material. At that point, Sirus will be host to the lowest scum and everyone else will bolt to XM.

Shame on them. I'll personally never buy a Sirus radio.

[casper2004]

What a joke!

Why does anyone need 500 million dollars? Instead of giving somebody that much money, it should be used to help the uninsured of the USA get proper healthcare.

[Duffey]

the typical "un-question"

Do you know why I no longer watch professional baseball on television? It is because, to me, no one is worth that much money for playing a game.

Do you know why baseball players still make so much money? Because others will pay the asking price.

Whether or not you and I think Howard Stern is worth a plugged nickel, is not the issue.

As long as he produces a product for which enough people will pay, he will keep producing that product. Moreover, if enough people want to pay for it, those people and all that money have a good chance of shielding him from any FCC regulations that might be proposed to "protect the public interests."

[londonink]

Will the ads on satellite radio be profane too?

See blog posting on this topic:

http://londonink.blogspot.com/2005/11/will-ads-on-satellite-radio-be-profane.html

[Steve Jordan]

Stern Isn't Worth Monkey P***

He was an ***hole before. He's an ***hole now. I won't be listening to him, so I couldn't care less if he dropped dead.

[208774626618253979477959487856]

Best of all - not avail in CANADA?!

http://www.analogstereo.com/canadian_satellite_radio.htm

[casper2004]

Just say no to legislating speech.

I've never paid to get a dose of Stern and I never will. I'm glad he said that he wishes the FCC chairman gets cancer that spreads, just like I'm glad someone here said that Howard can drop dead. You want to know why? It paints a picture of themselves in their own words, and who could draw it any better?

[johnorourke1951]

Stern is Trash but satellite radio is worth having

Because of all this discussion about Stern, I'm looking into Satellite radio for my home. In all honesty, I prefer XM radio for Major League Baseball and the Bob Edwards program in addition to other things, since I fondly remember Bob from his years hosting NPR's Morning Edition. If Stern becomes a passing fad but listeners stay with Serious for other content that would be the best of all possibilities. If you have Satellite radio let Stern rant as much as he wants but enjoy the music, news and other programs Serious will make available. Thank you.
John O'Rourke

[markdoiron]

No

Stern isn't worth $100,000,000/year. no one is.

mark d.

[DFCraig]

Stern

NO. Stern going to Sirius is the best thing that could happen, except for Sirius.

[sMoRTy71]

I can't wait

Stern was pulled off the air by Clear Channel here in Louisville a couple of years ago, so I can't wait for the move to Sirius.

I recently purchased a Sirius radio just so that I could listen to his new show. And several other people I know are doing the same.

Regardless of your personal take on Stern (I'm honestly surprised at all of the holier-than-thou comments so far), he will help Sirius overtake XM in 2006.

[KittyAW]

No One Forced to Listen to Stern

No one is forced to listen to Stern; doing so is purely voluntary and the payment to him via a pay radio service is also purely voluntary. Those who do not like his subject matter or manner need only not listen, no representative from Scirus can compel a person to tune in. This is not a government agency that has the power of the gun to stop a person (inside or out of vehicle) and demand to see papers and require that the person remain where they are or else be arrested for "interfering with an officer of the law".

If large numbers of people want to hear Howard Stern and pay the subscription rates for a satellite radio service that provides him, then he will likely earn large sums of money. That's a far cry from having money taken/stolen via taxes from one's paycheck, property assessments and transactions which are then spent on all sorts of government projects that politicians and bureaucrats have decided is "in the public interest". Try not paying those taxes and you'll come face to face with the force/gun of government. Scirus is a business and either gets voluntary customers sufficient to make a desired profit or it folds up. With government, only a lack of enforcers will cause it to wither and die - but that's not an impossible dream.

In addition those who do not like Howard Stern can socially preference against those who do - just not associate with them voluntarily. Of course having good defensible reasons for this dislike would be more likely to influence those "fans" of Stern rather than just make them laugh at apparent timidity. The same type of social preferencing against enforcers of government - the real power base - could reduce their numbers significantly leaving the politicians and bureaucrats to enforce their own mounds of paper regulations/laws/edicts or see governments wither and die.


**Kitty Antonik Wakfer

MoreLife for the rational - http://morelife.org
Reality based tools for more life in quantity and quality
Self-Sovereign Individual Project - http://selfsip.org

[Devvy]

GROW UP! and let Howard do his thing

You all need to really look deep down inside and find out what's really wrong. Is it Howard, or is it just the fact that someone is making a substantial amount of money while your stuck at your dead end jobs. For Christ sakes if you thinks he's crap THEN DON'T LISTEN TO HIM. You just prove how ignorant and envious you are when you write negative remarks like that. So what if its smut. I think we've all gotten past puberty so it won't affect us adults. And unless your child has access to Sirius receiver I see no reason for your hatred. I think you all need to re-evaluate your priorities and not Sirius's.

[astrobird]

use your imanigation

Who needs Howard,anyone with a little creativity can be just as offensive to themselves why pay someone else to do it for you?

[luckey68]

Our 1st Guarented Right As Americans

What was it called?? Freedom Of Speech Mabey?