So I guess by now, a lot of you have heard about Howard Stern jumping over to Sirius satellite radio, signing a $500 million 5-year contract in the process. And if you haven’t, here’s a couple of tidbits:
Howard Stern, the ribald radio host who has become a poster boy for bad behavior on U.S. airwaves, will jump to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006, freeing him from the grips of regulators and giving the nascent satellite radio sector a big boost.
The deal gives a much needed shot in the arm to Sirius, which lags behind larger competitor XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.(Nasdaq:XMSR – news), and establishes the medium as a competitive alternative to traditional radio. Investors cheered the news, lifting Sirius shares 15.5 percent to a two-year high.
Sirius currently has more than 600,000 subscribers, a fraction of Stern’s current audience of 12 million listeners on broadcast radio, where he ranks No. 1 in 46 large markets across the country. Sirius said it would need to add 1 million subscribers to cover the cost of the five-year deal.
The numbers are pretty interesting here. Sirius is banking on over 8% (at least) of Stern’s listeners to not only install a Sirius-compatible stereo in their car/home/office, but pay the $12.95 per month subscription fee. I suppose if they’ve already got a subscriber base of 600,000 or so, there’s a really good chance that an additional million would jump on the bandwagon. It’s still a remarkable gamble, I bet XM is shitting their pants right now. Sirius just went from being the underdogs on the block to having the largest satellite-based cock. Not only did that rhyme, but it was ladened with excellent imagery.
What I’m wondering is whether or not any of you will be subscribing to Sirius, now that Stern will be moving there? I already have a Sirius-compatible, and I’m easily within their target demographic of age range and disposable income, but I’m not paying fucking $12.95 a month to listen to Howard. But I would wager that this was more of a step towards retirement. The man is 50-years old, filthy fucking rich, and this deal will carry him through 55. At this point, even if his show tanks on satellite radio, he probably wouldn’t give a shit. Especially with an excess $500 million to cushion his fall.
screw thatwhy pay when you can download…
The war of the raunch…XM radio already has Opie and Anthony, who are far funnier and more interesting that Stern is anymore.
he sucks anywayto bad for sirus Howard Stern is the most overrated person ever.
Sometimes I wonder……if Sirius really gets it. I had XM for a while, and I loved it, because it was a way to get AWAY from the typical commercial-ridden, mass produced crap that makes up most FM stations. If I wanted to listen to Stern, I could (and would) just do it on FM, for free. Sirius should be concentrating on MUSIC, and good, unique, interesting music, because that’s what I’m willing to PAY for. Am I alone?
SternWell, I for one plan on getting Sirius when he actually gets there. Also, from my understanding, they are ADDING 3 stations, so those of you who got your Sirius for music can still listen….Also, overrated or not he is still #1 and has a lot of pull. I can see Sirius getting the 1 million easily. probably more. May be a good time to invest….
Grandfather of all MediaStern is about as funny as a cup of morning coffee. As was said earlier, Opie and Anthony are back and on XM (they started monday), so as far and DJ’s attracting satellite radio buyers, O&A already have a huge jump on Howard. Looks like Stern is about to get served.
SiriuSWhat you also have to take into consideration is that a significant portion of XM’s subscribers will jump to Sirius..Howards fans will follow him for any reasonable price but I would bet that the price comes down to attract new users. I expect that by the time this comes to be, the cost will be in the 5.95 a month neighborhood since, it’s only 8.95 a month if you sign up when you buy a new Ford… by now im sure you are bored with reading this and I am typing for nothing, so I will save you the trouble and just tell myself to fuck off…thanks… :o)
My gut feelingIs that Sirius is going to continue to flop, and stern is going to be talking mostly to dead air (as compared to his current audience). If I’d have known about this deal three weeks ago, I’d have shorted sirius’ stock hard, hold it for a year or so till he’s flopped, then grabbed my cash and ran./me has been right four times now, should be paid as an analyst.
Margin Call…You’re supposed to short AT the peak, not before. Before means the margin clerk is calling your ass telling you he needs an additional $10,000 or he’s liquidating your account.$500 million is crazy money, Howard is gonna laugh all the way to the bank before he tries to cash the check and finds out that Sirius went bankrupt and he’s gonna get pennies on the dollar.
Pump and Dump…Stern is a Has-Been, but he probably had some Sirius Stock he needed to off, so out with the news…Besides, he dosen’t start till ’06…Its kindof like the Jay Leno deal with him leaving in 9.3 Years in the Future…..Must be a slow news day.Fuck it, im waiting for Howdy-Doody, then i’ll buy in!!!!……Who the Fuck listens to the radio anyways, i thought we all had MP3 headunits that afford us 12 hours of free music on one disk!…Put the Dice-Man on radio then i’ll listen…..
two things about sternXM will buy Sirius before Stern turns on the microphones for sat. radio. And truly, if you’re going to pay for sat. radio because of a specific show… buy XM and get Opie and Anthony. They blow Stern out of the water because he’s a douche bag hypocrite. hoo hoo, I invented douche bags….
Just dont get itYou guys sayin that Stern sucks obviously never listen for more than a few minutes while flipping through the dial. The show has constant running inside jokes that are what makes it so great. So if you don’t get it, you probably never will. I think a ton of people are going to get Sirius just for him. If I was able to listen to the radio more than I can right now, I’d definately get it.
Fuck SternFuck howard stern. I listened to that fuckwad for about 10 to 15 shows even before he got censored and it was still fuckin’ bullshit. Honestly, who gives one-tenth of one ratshit what howard stern has to say about anything? If he thinks he’s being risque by talking to pornstars, sex, \”profanity\”, and other people that are as equally fuckwad-minded as himself, he must’ve been cockslapped in the face by those guys who showed him he was a pindick in college real hard cuz anyone can simply go up to a group of guys and here the exact same fucking thing he thinks he’s being innovative for only for free.Someone needs to go ultimate ninja-status. On his face. Dragonkick style.
HoosierI have heard him, man… I tried and tried. I have gigs of his shows and I know about the inside jokes. But he’s got Dee Snyder Syndrome. It used to be he was hungry and eager. He made his bones talking about other shows and jocks. And when he became number one, he had Mel and the rest of Infinity gag all other Viacom jocks. Now he has become one of the things he used to rag on. Instead of ripping on somebody who deserves it he talks about where he brought the new slut trophy wife last night. The edge is gone. That’s why Stern needs to go. He USED to be great. the greatest. but now he’s over.