# How is the Howard Stern show doing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730 "2006-08-07T18:15:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vertizontal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ad7895/32.png) [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730/1 "2006-08-07T18:15:23Z")
Since the move to satellite (which I don’t subscribe to), how is the show doing? Has the show changed much? Now that “anything goes” as far as what they can actually say, has the creative content gotten better or worse? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730/2 "2006-08-07T19:25:12Z")
The last I heard, he reamed his old fans for not coming over to satellite. And that he wasn’t going to drop F-bombs just because he could. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730/3 "2006-08-07T20:19:44Z")
Not as well as he’d like to. I did [a thread on this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=366912) in April, after reading an LA Times article on the subject: [QUOTE=LA Times, April 11th, 2006] The self-proclaimed King of All Media once commanded a national audience of 12 million daily listeners before jumping to satellite in January. But since then, his kingdom has shrunk to a small fraction of that size. Meanwhile, the shock jock’s main replacements thus far have failed to hold very much of the former flock. According to industry analysts, the new Stern math scans something like this: At best, he took between 1 million and 2 million listeners with him, and his replacements, spread across many of the country’s major radio markets, are drawing numbers in a similar range. That leaves 8 million to 10 million nomadic listeners nationwide wandering the terrestrial radio dial in search of a new voice or sound to lead them out of the morning drive-time wilderness. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730/4 "2006-08-08T03:08:14Z")
The show is a lot more creative, and a lot more fun to listen to. I used to be an occasional listener back when he was on terrestial radio, but was never very impressed. I already had Sirius when he made the move and I didn’t expect much from it, but after listening for over half a year I’d gladly pay the subscription just for his show. It is the most entertaining thing on radio. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730/5 "2006-08-08T04:18:55Z")
The show is fantastic. Even better than when he was on terrestrial radio. The creativity is the same. Being able to say and do whatever he wants had helped the show. Like most large media outlets, The L.A. Times hates Stern. His humor and quick wit are beneath them so they trash him every chance they get. Sirius has added millions of listeners, most because of Howard. XM is getting ready to throw in the towel and merge with Sirius. Before Howard arrived at Sirius, XM dominated the market. Now the opposite is true. If you had actually heard the show and not just read about Howard’s comments, you would have understood that he never trashed his fans who haven’t come over yet. He simply said he couldn’t understand why some fans of the show didn’t want to spend a few cents a day (43 cents to be exact) to hear him. Give yourself a week of listening and you’ll be hooked. ---
**Author:** ![DrMemory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DrMemory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrMemory)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730/6 "2006-08-08T13:46:30Z")
I was unable to listen to his show for the last 6 years because I moved to a place with no station that had him. I was Very happy to have Howard back in my life. The show is still good. I AM a bit annoyed at the amount of vacation time he’s taken in the last six monthes. Now that he has his old tapes to play, it will be better when he goes on vacation. Unfortuneately, he won’t start playing them until Sept. ( The repeats of his Sirius shows are getting a bit tedious). All in all, it’s nice to be able to hear him again, and I just LOVE Sirius for other channels as well. Haven’t been back to terestrial radio since January. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730/7 "2006-08-08T14:03:15Z")
[QUOTE=Mangosteen] XM is getting ready to throw in the towel and merge with Sirius. Before Howard arrived at Sirius, XM dominated the market. Now the opposite is true. [/QUOTE] Cite? I’d really like to read more about this. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730/8 "2006-08-08T14:30:11Z")
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar] Cite? I’d really like to read more about this. [/QUOTE] It was just rumors. [Rumors of Merge](http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050126-4557.html) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730/9 "2006-08-08T14:58:51Z")
[QUOTE=Mahaloth] It was just rumors. [Rumors of Merge](http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050126-4557.html) [/QUOTE] That article is over a year and a half old. And reading it in that context, it wouldn’t surprise me if merger talks were now much further along than they were then. Also, it’s interesting to read all the points about profitability toward the end of the article. It seems that Stern did bring in the million new subscribers they needed him to. And compare the $650 million XM deal with MLB to the $220 million Sirius deal with the NFL…I’d think that XM is feeling the pinch more than Sirius is at this point. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730/10 "2006-08-08T16:31:58Z")
I am really enjoying the show on Sirius. I don’t know that it’s any more risque than anything they did before. Artie swears like a sailor, but other than that, ehh. I love the addition of George Takei. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730/11 "2006-08-08T17:21:49Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Dee] That article is over a year and a half old. And reading it in that context, it wouldn’t surprise me if merger talks were now much further along than they were then. Also, it’s interesting to read all the points about profitability toward the end of the article. It seems that Stern did bring in the million new subscribers they needed him to. And compare the $650 million XM deal with MLB to the $220 million Sirius deal with the NFL…I’d think that XM is feeling the pinch more than Sirius is at this point. [/QUOTE] The FCC would put a stop to any merger. The licenses for satrad were issued on the basis that there would be two companies. XM’s had a rough few months, but so has Sirius. Both companies are losing cash by the bucketload. XM’s MLB deal doesn’t compare to Sirius’s NFL deal because XM is getting almost-daily programming, so naturally it’s going to cost more. Besides, who listens to football on the radio anyway? The Opie & Anthony syndication deal with CBS has helped XM some because it’s gotten the name out there for free, and XM is finally running some commercials that mention programming rather than just showing famous people. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-howard-stern-show-doing/367730/12 "2006-08-08T18:55:25Z")
I miss the Howard Stern show on E!, now we get the Simple Life :rolleyes: As for XM vs Sirius, I wonder what the incentive was for XM to join up with Direct TV? I’ve listened to both and would subscribe to either rather than the shite on broadcast radio.