Howard is worth every penny. Everything he says is interesting.
Thanks Cisco for pointing out the economics of the situation.
The $500,000 base salary was for him alone, not the entire show. A few months back, he was given an addition $100,000 because high subscription numbers and now $85,000 more.
Obviously Howard is not for everyone, but I’m always surprised at the hostility toward him that some people show. Exactly why is he an “asshole”?
People who dislike him rarely( if ever) have listened to his show. They only listen to others who also don’t listen to the show. If you haven’t listened to at least an entire week of Stern, then you really don’t have any idea what the show is about. If you don’t what to give him a chance and really listen to several days of his show, that’s fine, but don’t pretend that you know what the show is about.
Figure that if he has a listener base of one million people, each of whom paid ten dollars every month…well there’s $120,000,000 every year coming to Sirius for having him on the air.
No idea what the real numbers are, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if he is actually paying off his salary. If Sirius is losing money it is probably going to hardware and all the other content that you have to have to be a radio network, but that isn’t something that forces people to come to their network.
Yes, and I suppose you’ve spent literally seconds upon seconds listening to him, hmmm?
Exactly 0% of the Stern-haters I’ve ever met have listened to his radio show for more than a couple minutes, and most of them never heard it at all. Like Mangosteen said - many people are told to hate him by other people who have also never listened. Maybe 30% of them saw his TV show on the E! Network and judged him by that. To be honest, even as a long-time loyal listener, I never liked the E! show. They took the raciest 20 minutes out of a 5-and-a-half to 6-hour show and put it on TV. I can see why so many people think that his show is all about strippers and midgets, but it’s still a grossly misinformed opinion. The best part of the Stern show is listening to them read the news and discuss current events, and in fact that makes up the majority of the show.
I don’t think it’s very far off at all, and it’s more than 5.4 million. I said he passed 6mm awhile back and in fact I think he’s closer to 7mm now. XM had a vastly larger budget and subscriber base to begin with, is owned by a larger parent company, and was poised to put Sirius out of business before Howard signed. They also have contracts with car manufacturers that account for many of their new subscriptions, and a lot of the new subscriptions were given away for free.
Try days. I used to have to endure hours from a piped-in audio that someone else had control over. It didn’t improve any from the first impression. The guy had a massive ego and some annoying and juvenile fixations, and unless he has mellowed over the last 10 years, I doubt if I would like him any better on Sirius.
However, I think he has every right to exist, broadcast, say any damn thing he wants to and get paid whatever he can legally negotiate.
Most of his “ego” is schtick. He’s just as quick to tell you he’s dumb, ugly, has a small penis, huge nose, etc.
I started listening in September, 1997 so it’s been not quite 10 years, but he actually has mellowed since I started listening, and by all accounts he’s mellowed out A LOT since his “shock jock” days in the '80s. He’s even talked about bits he did back then that he’s still embarassed of because they were too mean. He played a mean trick on a caller a few months ago* and there was a huge outcry from the fans, half of them saying it was too mean and half of them saying it was nothing compared to the stuff he did 20 years ago. He ended up feeling really bad about it.
[sub]*A guy sent in an absolutely horrible bit called “cum paste” that was way too long and not funny at all. Howard called him and pretended to love it, and started feeling the guy out for how much money he wanted to come work for the show, and then eventually let him down hard by telling him his bit sucked.[/sub]
The FCC has nominal oversight over the technical aspects of satellite transmissions (power, frequency, etc.) but none over content or business practices. The merger of XM and Sirius would be subject to FTC or perhaps ICC approval, but not FCC.
I don’t think anyone is worth that, but I understand the economics. I don’t listen to him anymore (no, I’m not going to pay for it), but I did listen regularly in the '80’s, and I applauded his candor and I-don’t-care-what-people-think attitude as he opined on politicians and current events. I lived in the D. C. area at the time, and I well recall the outrage when he joked about the passenger jet crashing into the 14th street bridge just a few days after the incident. That may be what got him fired - not sure. And from D. C., he went to NY. I continued to listen, but it seemed to me that there was a whole lot less talk about current events, and a whole lot more of the adolescent obsession with sex – I wasn’t offended so much as I was bored. I like to hear lively discussions about current events and outspoken people who don’t worry about being politically incorrect. Another thing that bugged me was that Robin was almost always kissing his ass. I thought it would have been much more interesting if she had disagreed with him occasionally and had some spirited debate. Instead, it seemed that all she did was laugh at his jokes and occasionally be the butt of his humor.
The way I understand it, Jurph - and it’s not just my coworkers who feel this way, but industry analysts too - XM and Sirius are a duopoly in satellite radio, so yes, letting them merge would create a…
He’s egotistical, racist, sexist, mean-spirited, cruel, infantile, greedy, shallow, and self-centered. Isn’t that pretty much the definition of “asshole”?
I think that’s true of a lot of people. But I did listen to the show when it was on free radio. I don’t think the question is whether he’s an asshole; in my opinion he definitely is, and I don’t like him as a person. (Of course I know a certain amount of that is an act, and he might be perfectly charming in real life.) The question should be, “do people like his show?”, and quite obviously a lot of people do.
I’ll give you egotistical, cruel, infantile, greedy, shallow, and self-centered. He’s all of those things at times, though not the majority of the time by far. He’s human just like you and me, and those are very human traits that are occasionally expressed by all of us.
But saying he’s racist and sexist proves that you know virtually nothing about him. Howard is extremely outspoken against racism, sexism, homophobia, and all types of discrimination.
Thanks for negating your own argument so I didn’t have to do it for you.
I’m no great fan, but he’s racist and sexist in the same way Borat is racist and sexist. Of course the comments sound bad, but in context they are more making fun of the racism than anything else.
With due respect, if this analysis reflects your understanding of corporate finance, I suggest taking a basic course at your community college. Sirius is reeling from debt. Your suggestion that Stern is responsible for all new Sirius subscribers needs a cite.
It’s obvious that he’s helped, but analysts were projecting 3.5 million subscribers for the end of 2006 before signing Stern. So, assuming they were close to accurate, Stern would only account for about 2 million subscribers.
Uhhh, how 'bout presenting some kind of counter argument instead of just insulting me?
First off, I never said Sirius wasn’t reeling from debt. Most companies lose money in their infancy. I happen to think their future looks bright.
Secondly, my suggestion that Stern is responsible for all new Sirius subscribers was made up by you, so I don’t think that calls for me providing a cite.
