“Outside of retirement or re-signing with Sirius, there really aren’t a lot of options for Howard Stern,” Rick Aristotle Munarriz writes for The Motley Fool. “He can’t go back to terrestrial radio. Satellite radio has grown in stature over the past five years, while conventional radio has either been stagnant or regressed. There may be some shining stars in the industry, but they are small players. The giants that would be logical suitors — companies including Clear Channel and CBS — are unlikely to compete financially with Sirius XM. They also wouldn’t be able to offer Stern the regulatory freedom he sought in taking a chance with Sirius five years ago.”
“We live in a wired world, so Stern can always attempt to strike out on his own. If Stern can sway a million listeners to pay $10 a month for a rich, Web-served experience, he will top his current contract,” Munarriz writes. “The problem, of course, is that Stern risks plenty. He gambled on satellite radio in its infancy and won, but Internet radio as a premium service is virgin soil.”
“He can partner with a Web darling that will give him greater programming flexibility than even Sirius XM. Amazon.com’s Audible may be an interesting fit, but the only logical outlet would be Apple,” Munarriz writes. “Yes, Apple.”
“The iEmpire is shutting down the Lala streaming service it acquired just five months ago. Why would Apple buy a company to squash it? The best bet is that Apple will be incorporating Lala’s streaming technology into iTunes this summer,” Munarriz writes. “This could actually work for a juggernaut like Stern, and between Apple and Zune daddy Microsoft you have two of the richest companies on the planet.”
“A bidding war between CBS Radio and Sirius XM may very well be bumped by a bidding war between Apple and Microsoft,” Munarriz writes. “Is this likely? No. Is it possible? Absolutely.”
“However, my gut feeling is that Stern returns to Sirius XM on a scaled-back basis. Sirius XM doesn’t want to spend as much as it used to on Stern, and he’s unlikely to want to work as hard as he did when he first arrived,” Munarriz writes. “It’s the one logical ending to this saga; even if analysts, shareholders, and Stern fans won’t let Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin rest until they hear the ultimate answer on Stern’s Sirius show.”
Full article here.
A non-story… on many levels.
Is Munarriz Stern’s agent? No bidding between Apple and M$. They could care less.
I don’t get it. What’s the appeal of Howard Stern?
ick
Howard Stern is the lowest of low class
if Apple won’t do boobies, then that pretty much declares how they regard this purported opportunity
I wonder how much they’re each bidding for the other to get him.
Actually, they couldn’t care less.
I’d bid for him.
I need my car washed and the yard mowed.
Just my 2 cents (that’s my bid, btw)
The appeal is there for low-life bottom feeders. There must many.
Yuck!
Keep that scumbag away from Apple!!!
Stern isn’t for everyone. Personally, I’m a big fan and bought a lifetime Sirius membership for that reason alone. BTW – paid for itself in 2-1/2 years, so it’s been “free” since then.
No way Apple would allow Stern, let alone bid for him. Hell, he’d have it made if they allowed a Stern App for subscribers, selling song parodies and streaming his show.
Funny, how everyone stereotypes Stern as a dirt bag when he’s actually more loyal and honest than about anyone in Hollywood.
What is Munarriz smoking? Steve Jobs bends over backwards to make the App store a PG experience, and Munarriz thinks that a past-prime, potty-mouthed, puerile sleaze like Howard Stern somehow fits with that carefully crafted brand image?
Munarriz is either delusional or hit trolling. Don’t bother clicking through to his refuse.
Nobody knows this Stern-guy outside the U.S.
We have our own anesthetists.
Stern? What is it, 1994?
@ dan, Pablo, Ubermac, and iMaki: Obviously none of you have ever listened to Howard Stern’s show. And despite not having any first hand experience listening experience y’all feel qualified to call him “low class”, “low-life”, and a “scumbag”, which just shows us what uneducated, low class, low life scumbags all of you are.
The best thing Stern could do is renew at Sirius while putting paid podcasts of his show (ala Rush Limbaugh) on iTunes.
It’s reported that Sirius paid Stern $500 million for a 5-year contract.
And despite the complaints that he was overpaid, he delivered. Sirius subscribers jumped from around 400,000 to over 4 million in the first 6 months of Stern’s move. Now that number is about 18 million.
Sirius wouldn’t be here today without Stern. He saved Sirius, made the XM deal possible and EARNS his money unlike the other celebrities on the network.
Martha Stewart and Oprah have large contracts and contribute very little original programming.
I love the naysayers who don’t listen or have only heard the show a few times in the 90s.
Don’t like a particular topic, wait 10 minutes and they’ll be on to something else. The show has evolved and has gotten much better in my opinion.
If you want porn on your phone, go with Android. If you want raunchy, go with Apple…
Apple won’t be bidding for Stern. It may encourage him to put his show on a new streaming service from iTunes, but it won’t bid for him.
I find it funny how many people bash Stern, Limbaugh, and others without ever listening to them. These people have incredibly strong opinions against those entertainers, but they absolutely refuse to even listen, getting their “information” from sound bites, opinions of other people, etc.
Before you slam somebody, at least have the courtesy to check it out for yourself.
@Tommy Boy and MacinScott
You are right, the last time I “listened” to Stern, he was asking some lady to jiggle her boobs and spank her ass…
So you are saying Stern has evolved regarding his version of adult-lite “stupid pet tricks”?
Let me rephrase, the last time I listened to Stern first hand… no sound bites, opinions of other people, etc.
So everyone is saying the Stern show now has none of the “smut” he peddled?
Put Stern on the Space Station and let him broadcast whatever he wants up there until one of his fellow astronauts kills the son-of-a-bitch.
What a stupid article. Apple would never do this, nor would Microsoft.
I say let Howie retire so the much funnier Opie & Anthony can get more support from Sirius XM.
Really? Howard stern? I figured apples “nice n clean” record wouldn’t want some one like him. I’m not bashing him, just saying that somtimes his material might cross apples guide lines for family entertainment.
retirement is the best option.
Neither Apple nor MS will waste money on a washed-up shock jock, and it’s doubtful that Sirius can justify continued payment of such an over-inflated salary.
Sirius/XM will be gone in 5 years. Why would you pay for this when you can easily plug your phone into car and listen to online radio for free? I listened to Stern in the early 90’s and he was kinda funny, but he is not worth paying for radio.