The End of the Howard Stern Show Seems Near
No emperor gets to reign forever, not even the King of All Media.
While there’s no official word from Howard Stern’s camp, SiriusXM or Mariann from Brooklyn, U.S. Sun is reporting that the satellite radio company intends to make Stern an offer he’ll certainly refuse once his contract is up at the end of 2025.
Stories that cite anonymous “sources” and “insiders” should always be taken with a grain of salt. That said, Stern’s five-year, $500 million deal is up this fall, and “while Sirius is planning to make him an offer, they don't intend for him to take it,” according to one of U.S. Sun’s unnamed insiders. “Sirius and Stern are never going to meet on the money he is going to want. It’s no longer worth the investment.”
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Instead, SiriusXM is expected to negotiate with Stern for the rights to his library. Considering that the service currently devotes two channels to Stern content, much of it reruns of older shows, it’s possible that fans wouldn’t notice much of a difference.
That same insider claims that the financial terms of Stern’s deal no longer make sense. “There's no way they can keep paying his salary,” they said. “After you saw what happened with Stephen Colbert, it’s like they just can’t afford to keep him going.”
The Colbert reference points to CBS’ alleged financial reasons for firing the comedian — The Late Show’s advertising dollars no longer came close to paying for the show’s budget, the network said. If those losses are real, it’s hard to believe Stern’s presence is worth $100 million a year to SiriusXM either. While the shock jock no doubt helped drive subscription sign-ups in the aughts, his fading relevance while broadcasting from his basement makes his current salary untenable.
There may be another Colbert comparison, too, says another Sun source. “If Sirius isn’t going to give Stern a good offer, I don’t think it would have anything to do with his ratings,” they said. “It’s more likely everything to do with the political climate.”
That reasoning is more dubious. While Stern is a Trump critic, political discussion on The Howard Stern Show isn’t anywhere near Colbert levels. And SiriusXM devotes entire channels, such as SiriusXM Progress and Urban View, to left-leaning pundits, while providing outlets like SiriusXM Patriot for the right. Political talk is good radio — to quote Jay Leno, “Why shoot for just half an audience? Why not try to get the whole?”
Before signing his most recent contract, Stern made plenty of noise indicating he was nearing the end of his run. At 71 years old and no longer regularly coming into the studio, there’s a good chance Stern rides off into the sunset no matter what kind of contract he’s offered. Wouldn’t he rather leave on his terms than suffer the indignity of cancellation? Doesn’t the fact that 18 members of his Wack Pack are dead signal that the end is near? And as David Letterman has proven, quitting a long-running show doesn’t mean you have to disappear.
Retirement makes the most sense, a chance to proclaim, “Howard Stern, you’ve said it all.”
