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Stern Will Jump To Sirius In 2006

Posted by timothy on from the now-a-bird-can-aim-it-at-you-from-above dept.

UnanimousCoward writes "Howard Stern announced it on his current radio show, and several feeds including this CNET article are reporting that Stern has signed a multi-million dollar multi-year contract with Sirius Satellite Radio starting in January, 2006. As I've watched technology grow from the time I was listening to Stern in the eighties, I can't wait to hook into a shockjock-timeshifted-podcast..."

10 of 511 comments (clear)

  1. YRO? by thewldisntenuff · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And this involves our rights online how? Even with the censorship of Clear Channel and the FCC.....

    We need a simple "Rights" section, although I don't know if this even qualifies for rights period....

    Just news...

    -thewldisntenuff

    --
    My MythTV HowTo
  2. Yeah, but is he worth a billion bucks? by Jaywalk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This may be a good thing for Sirius, but it seems to have made the stock market go stupid. The price of Sirius stock -- already overpriced IMHO -- jumped a billion dollars on the news. Later it dropped to half a billion. but that's still nuts. The Motley Fool did an article on it. I don't care for Howard Stern, but even if you think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread, what could he possibly say on the radio that would increase the value of the company by that much?

    --
    ===== Murphy's Law is recursive. =====
    1. Re:Yeah, but is he worth a billion bucks? by LostCluster · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Stern going Sirius alone, is enough to make me go out and buy a Sirius unit. I am willing to pay.

      That is the technical definition of a "killer app". One specific application of a system that is so valuable it justifies the purchase of an entire multi-function system.

      That's why this is big news. Stern has a lot of fans who don't want to lose access to him on a daily basis. Sirius sales will surge during holiday season 2005.

    2. Re:Yeah, but is he worth a billion bucks? by clf8 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What could he say? The same things he's always said. What he can bring, however, is dare I say millions of new subscribers. Stern fans tend to be pretty fervent (as do Stern haters). If 1/10 subscribes to Sirius' service, and 1/100 subscribes to his pay channel (he'll be given 3 channels to program), that will be a great boost. Greater subscriber base gives you greater market clout, more tuner's sold (thus better economies of scale), and to many a key differentiator between Sirius and XM. No one, except maybe Stern himself, can claim this could be a move that makes Sirius THE satellite radio provider, but in the long run, sure, it could be worth a billion.

      "The average morning radio show listener tunes in for 30 minutes. The average Howard Stern fan tunes in for 90 minutes!" "90 minutes?! Why?" "Most common answer, 'I want to hear what he'll say next.'" "But what about the people who hate Stern?" "The average Howard Stern hater listens for TWO HOURS!" "I can't believ this! Why?" Most common answer, 'I want to hear what he'll say next.'"

  3. Re:Why Not XM by ZenPirate · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm going to assume that it's because ClearChannel has stake in XM

  4. Re:I don't get it... by tommertron · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I've seen it, and I liked the movie. I liked the spirit of the movie, which in large part is about pushing the boundaries of free speech in a lot of ways. I still don't find his show funny, though.

    I just find him too mean to be honest. It seems a lot of his humour comes from bullying people, like the mentally challenged, who can't really defend themselves. That's just my impression anyway. (Not that that means I think we should censor him or anything.)

    --
    Random rants about technology: http://technorants.blogspot.com
  5. Re:Regulations? by The_K4 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Since the republicans control congress, expect to see "child protection" legislation in the next year or so to give the FCC the power to regulate cable.

    Remember that in November you have a chance to try and change that.

  6. Re:I don't get it... by Average_Joe_Sixpack · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe it's a USian thing, but over here most guys grow out of this sort of humour round about the time their balls drop, and most girls don't like it at all.

    Benny Hill ??

  7. He's an ass. by el-spectre · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I've heard him. In my opinion, he's purile, insulting, egotistical and in general, an ass.

    Turns out, being an ass is legal. I don't like his show, I won't listen to him, but he ABSOLUTELY has the right to do what he does.

    Isn't it funny how many people (not the poster I'm responding to, tho) only want freedom of speech as long as they agree with it?

    --
    "Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
  8. Re:I don't get it... by techsoldaten · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Took an american studies class back in college, we did a critical comparison of 'Miss America' to 'The Great Gatsby'. While I agree with you Howard is capable of only one joke, I don't think you've found it yet.

    The whole reason for people's interest in Howard is that he is always something other than how he presents himself. He comes off as a juvenile, but he is also a shrewd businessman. He comes off as a pervert, but he was married and had a family for over 20 years. He loves the low-brow humor, but also engages in serious political commentary. He provokes the worst from people, but also manages to keep a strong core audience. It's impossible to have a well-defined concept of him without contradiction, which is at the root of people's fascination with him.

    People like to know who other people are, you like to be able to count on something from the people around you. Howard Stern's ability to change his persona is what makes him more than a crass boob joke, the joke is that he can be many different people and move so easily from one 'type' of person to the other.

    M