Holy cow! This is big news.....Satellite radio just got one heck of a shot in the arm: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041006/us_nm/media_sirius_dc_11 Howard Stern to Move to Satellite Radio NEW YORK (Reuters) - Howard Stern, one of the most popular U.S. radio personalities, on Wednesday said he will broadcast his show on Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (Nasdaq:SIRI - news) beginning in 2006, after being dropped earlier this year from several stations that objected to his often off-color humor. By luring Stern away from his current employer, Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE:VIAB - news) Infinity Broadcasting, the deal gives a shot in the arm to satellite radio overall, a new business built on attracting subscribers to dozens of radio stations broadcast digitally. It also gives Sirius, whose shares rose about 17 percent in early trading, a boost in its rivalry with its larger competitor XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:XMSR - news). Sirius currently has more than 600,000 subscribers, a small amount compared to Stern's current audience on broadcast radio, where he ranks No. 1 in 46 large markets across the country, including New York and Los Angeles. But many analysts have said that a move to satellite radio gives Stern more freedom to broadcast his show. Indecency on the airwaves became a national issue in January when Janet Jackson bared a breast during the National Football League's Super Bowl half-time show. Since then, Clear Channel Communications, which kicked Stern off six of its stations, was fined $1.75 million by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) to settle all indecency complaints. Sirius said it would need to add 1 million subscribers to cover the cost of the five-year deal. The company estimates total production and operating costs for the show to be about $100 million annually. XM shares fell nearly 3 percent in early trading.
Wow, $100 million to do the Howard Stern show? That sure seems high for anything to do with radio. Props to Sirius, though. I have always thought they wouldn't be far from shutting down, but they have really made some big moves to try to compete with XM radio. They got quite a bit of the good college football games, all of the NFL, and now are getting big names like Stern.
I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for satellite radio just to get Stern. I listen to his show now but I guess not starting in 2006. I understand his reasons to get out from under the FCC. However, he is going to have a very small audience now.
This may sound crazy, but I heard he was doing a straight show from now on, that he was going legit, but I will believe it when I see it.
I don't listen to him (I don't even know if I can here in Houston), but I did stop on some HBO channel the other day when his movie was on. I have to admit--it was like a train wreck--I couldn't stop watching. Nevertheless, I know that he still has a ton of listeners and rakes in a ton of cash.
Hmm. Sirius, huh? So XM is more popular? Do any of you guys with sat radio know the difference between the two? Is one significantly better?
I can't believe they took off Ramsey just so we could get another hour of unentertaining crap like unscreened phone calls.
Look back a few pages in the last 4 months there have been about 10 threads on teh topic. I have Sirius and it is way better for sports.
Just looking at Sirius' lineup I didn't see a valid reason to subscribe to it. Maybe the Stern influence will help bolster the lineup more and they'll be able to attract better shows.
You must not care for Football then. As opposed to XM, Sirius plays all NFL games and a large number of college games each week, not to mention the NFL network. I've had it for about 5 months and I haven't turned on regular radio since then.
yeah, but who wants to listen to those on the radio??? the games are on TV. i imagine the universe of people who are rushing out to their stores to get sirius so they can listen to college and pro football is pretty small. stern has 12 million listeners right now. his audience on sirius will be a very small fraction of that number. i just don't see the value added for "pay" radio. i get commercial free sirius music through Dish Network at home...but would never pay for it for my car.
I live in Nashville, TN so I don't get Texans games on TV, only the Titans and whatever national game is on. I have Sirius and listen to the Texans broadcasts and I also listen to the Texas Longhorns. It's not for everybody, but it works for us out of town fans.
You know what. I think I am wrong. I think I heard "He's going to be Serious". But I probably heard He's going with Sirius. Stupid me.
i don't doubt there's a lot like you out there. but with the national coverage of games and the sunday ticket, i'm thinking i don't go out and intentionally sink money in sirius radio because of the NFL football.
