The Chicago Tribune has an article concerning Howard Stern and his chances of resigning with Sirius XM radio. His five year, $500 million, four-days-a-week contract is set to expire at the end of the next year. That means now is the time for Howard Stern and Sirius XM to begin negotiating a new contract.
About the only thing that is clear at this point is that there is no way he will get another $500 million contract.
Back when he scored the original $500 million contract, Sirius and XM were locked into a satellite radio war. Sirius needed Stern because they needed a big name to add to their lineup. Now Sirius and XM are the same company. At least they are supposed to be. They are still run as though they are two separate entities.
The point is, Sirius and XM aren’t about to get into a bidding war for the services of Howard Stern. So what does this mean for Howard Stern? According to the Chicago Tribune, maybe he will become a podcaster:
Stern could leave to start a new venture, perhaps a subscription service that sends his show to PCs and mobile devices. Sirius already streams Stern’s shows online and through the iPhone. Or he could explore more options in cable TV, where his first pay-per-view special, “Howard Stern’s Negligee and Underpants Party,” was offered in 1988.
Contrary to the Chicago Tribune, Howard Stern is not available on the iPhone. His show is about the only things you cannot listen to via the Sirius XM iPhone app. What’s funny about this is that he was pushing for a Sirius XM iPhone app for some time. Evidently his $500 million contract did not allow Sirius XM to stream his show over the iPhone. You can listen to his show on the computer, just not the iPhone.
