Can Howard Stern save Sirius XM?
(Credit:
Steve Guttenberg)
No matter how you look at it, Sirius XM Satellite Radio is in sad shape. The stock has been stuck around 11 cents for months, and now there's talk about bankruptcy.
I don't get it, the satellite company claims 19 million subscribers, and if they were paying the same rate as I do, $12.95 a month, that works out to close to $3 billion a year in income. They also have ads on all the nonmusic channels, which have to be generating income as well. Oh, wouldn't you think the ads on Howard Stern's show make a load of dough for Sirius XM?
I've heard that EchoStar, a maker of TV set-top boxes, is trying to take over the company. but Sirius XM is holding tight.
So if Howard Stern loves Sirius XM so much, why doesn't he buy it? If he can't swing it solo, maybe he could team up with other Sirius XM heavyweights like Oprah and Martha Stewart to keep the satellites afloat.
Stern's fans are a rabid group, and they believe Stern is in large part for the company's "success." Hey, if he's not interested in taking over the debt, maybe he could work for free for the duration of his contract. Relieved of the burden of paying Stern's hefty salary would free up capital and keep the company out of bankruptcy. He's already made hundreds of millions of dollars from Sirius; isn't it time to give something back?
Everyday working stiffs are being forced to accept givebacks and pay cuts to help save the companies they work for. Isn't it time that silly rich stars like Stern do the same? If he refuses to work for free, he could at least show up more often--Stern works four days a week--and gets 10 (!) weeks of vacation a year!
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. 
What you are forgetting Steve, judging by your bias reporting is that if Howard Stern leaves, a great many people will follow. You see Steve, it was Stern who put Sirius-XM on the map and i don't think they would let him go.
"He's already made hundreds of millions of dollars from Sirius, isn't it time to give something back?"
Give back what Steve? You mean Oprah should give back as well? How about Martha Steward? Hell she could help the company with their finances as well.
"he could at least show up more often--Stern works four days a week--AND gets ten (!) weeks of vacation a year!"
And yet its the most popular show on Sirius-XM.
Great theories Steve ( Yea Right).
While I'm not a subscriber, I want Sirius-XM to live on. The reason I'm not a subscriber is because I'm concerned about their longevity. I don't want to invest in the equipment only to have them go belly-up a few months down the road. I want to subscribe, and will if they ever turn this ship around.
Aside from his ego, I can't imagine why Stern wouldn't want to personally bail out Sirius-XM. I thought he'd been partially compensated in stock. If so, it would be in his own best interest for the company to succeed, as it would mean more money for him. He's got an opportunity to show people that he can do some good, that he cares about something other than himself, and in the process, he could become even more wealthy. I should qualify all of this: It is not Stern's responsibility to bail out this corporation. It's his opportunity.
But Sirius-XM's problems were not solely caused by Stern's enormous paycheck. They were caused by their own management's failure to listen to their subscribers. I'm referring to deteriorating sound quality, elimination of channels people enjoyed, and the addition of commercials to channels that previously had none. They should take a page out of Netflix's book: listen to your customers, give them what they want, and word of mouth will do the rest.
Why should Stern work for free? You suggest that he needs to 'give something back.' This is a nonsensical, juvenile argument.
Sirius hasn't paid him 'hundreds of millions of dollars.' You're alluding to his reported contract of $500 million. First of all, that includes costs for the channels and wasn't simply his salary. Beyond that, a large part of the '$500 million' was paid to him in stock. Since his signing, the stock has obviously declined significantly.
Regardless, he still has likely earned ten's of millions of dollars for Sirius. Why SHOUDN'T he 'give something back?'
Well, perhaps because he's never 'taken' anything. Sirius/XM pays him money for a service. If he performs the service, why should he need to give anything else? Why shouldn't Sirius/XM 'give back' to Howard and double his salary? It follows the same warped logic that you suggest.
Stern single-handedly saved Sirius radio. If not for him, they would've folded and XM would've been the only satellite radio player. Currently he makes a tremendous amount of money for Sirius/XM.
I propose that you 'give back' to C-Net and work for free. Another suggestion would be to 'give back' to the readers and to write better columns.
It is not a heavy investment $50 - 199 for equipment (sometimes even free) and a 12.95 for first subscription. I have 2 subscriptions and i am very happen with all the content. Regular radio is intolerable after listening to CD quality music and uncensored content. SiriusXM is not going anywhere it is a great product and it is the future of radio.
SiriusXM is dead months after it came together, and by next week it will have a new owner in the form of its debtor Dish, or it will file for bankruptcy and go out of business.
Try Slacker Radio/Pandora/Last.fm/etc. on your iPhone or Blackberry and meet SiriusXM's gravediggers.
I listen to Slacker Radio everywhere I go - working, driving in the car - on my iPhone. And I've bought a ton of music on iTunes that I've discovered on Slacker.
On Sirius I get to hear DJs......you know, live humans. I get to hear special in studio performances (the Sirius XMU station has the best in studio performances around). I get to hear music acts host their own shows (Kings of Leon hosted a solid week in the mornings). I get to hear bands take over stations for long periods (REM took over the Spectrum station for an entire weekend). I get to hear talk radio from around the country (AND parts of the world). And when I am stuck in traffic, I even get to hear a nice traffic report for my area (which I could never seem to find on regular radio, I would always just miss it). That is far better than Pandora which plays Fall Out Boy because I like Vampire Weekend. Thanks?
I am a loyal Sirius listener. Satelite radio is like early cable. It is cheap, and gives you everything for one price. I do not understand why Microsoft does not swallow up Sirius. You can now listen to 65 channels of commercial free music on any web enabled phone. Microsoft could have setup a player on any cell phone. This could squash the IPOD. Why download, or upload music from your CDROMs when you can just pick a genre and listen to endless music for one subscription price?
I only use an Ipod Nano for running. I hate loading my CDs and figuring out what to put on the thing. Satelite lets you pick a channel and they have DJs on most channels that only announe the song. No commericals!
I signed up for Sirius to keep laughing at Howard Stern, but if he was gone, I would continue for the commercial free music channels. I also like the talk channels like OutQ, even with the commercials.
Buying Sirius out-right for 270 million is a joke. That does not fix the high price they are paying for NFL and NBA and NHL. I wonder if they dumped Oprah, Martha Stewart and sports after chapter 11 bankruptcy, could they make a profit? I question how many people listen to those channels.
Satelite radio is still not included in Arbritron ratings yet. Broadcast radio is falling apart. Soon every person will have tried satelite radio, as all new cars come with satelite radio. It will seem ridiculous to go back to FM and AM after you have so many choices. Few people switch from cable to broadcast TV after they start on cable.
Tech in Seattle
I don't know for sure what their real problems are, although having more satellites than they need is surely one of them. Another big problem must be the problems of the auto industry, which has been a significant source of revenue for them and the gaining of new subscribers. It is unfortunate that the timing of the merger and the auto collapse were so close.
Regardless, I hope it survives. I really enjoy it, particularly since I drive several hundred miles every week.
In the beginning he was live on air 5 days a week, but then that changed quickly. He dropped to 4 days and the vacations became ridicules. He had the nerve to talk bad about Oprah for only working one day a month. I really hated listening to the reruns of the show and it seemed like the reruns were the only thing on.
He ripped on XM satellite all the time until they became his boss, then he never said anything bad after. So it proved he was a hippocrate.
Both my wife and I like Artie until he started disappearing from the show. I really hope it wasn't a ploy to give the mystery because I think it will hurt Artie in any future venture in show business.
Well Howard made his millions from us "Suckers" who followed him. I from one did not renew my subscription to Sirius last year because of the short work week, only 4 hours a day and 10 weeks vacation. Most people have to work 40 hours a week 50 weeks a year only to just get by. Howard and crew work 16 hours a week 42 weeks a year and make millions.
One thing I forgot to mention is when Howard was first promoting the switch, he promoted commercial free listening, but that wasn't the case for his show. His show was filled with commercial so minus the commercial time during the show, they may have worked only 3 hours a day.
Sounds like a personal problem.
"He ripped on XM satellite all the time until they became his boss, then he never said anything bad"
after."
Why would he rip into them if they are part of the same company?
"He had the nerve to talk bad about Oprah for only working one day a month. I really hated listening to the reruns of the show and it seemed like the reruns were the only thing on."
He works four days a week for about five hours a day and give his show and original programing on his channel, if you have a problem with that, then you were never a fan to begin with.
"Well Howard made his millions from us "Suckers" who followed him."
The only sucker i see here is you for trying to pin what ever problems you have on Howard. If you have problems with the show, then you can leave and the people who still enjoy it will continue to do so.
"One thing I forgot to mention is when Howard was first promoting the switch, he promoted commercial free listening, but that wasn't the case for his show."
He never said that he show was comercial free, only the music.
Also, the audio sounds like crap. A lot of people are switching to HD-radio car receivers because you get more music channels with decent sounds and it's FREE!
I do listen occassionaly to the channels offered by DirecTV. But since the merger, they've since cut off Opie and Anthony; so I listen far less.
I wouldn't blame Howard that much. But it is true that his contract is wayyyyyyyyy out of whack considering the company is in massive debt. That needs to change and quick, or he'll be forced to retire (I don't see him comming back to regular radio).
He sounds way to defensive to be just an average poster.
If that's the case...Howard, you were great when you were free. You're not so great at $11.99 a month. But that's ok, you're show is readily available over the inernet (via BitTorrent) anyway.
- by Mrwirez February 12, 2009 3:42 PM PST
- Stern IS SIRIUS... If he goes, I will be going with about 7 million other subscribers.
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