Obama’s Recession: Howard Stern May Have to Swallow His Gargantuan Pride & Accept Less than $500 Million
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on December 28, 2009
Shock jock Howard Stern is threatening to quit Sirius XM Radio, but who on Earth can afford to pay him 500 million dollars during the economic free-fall of the Age of Obama?
Shock jock Howard Stern is threatening to quit Sirus XM Radio… yes, again.
But unless he has suddenly found another radio station that can afford his astronomical price tag during Obama’s recession, Stern may have to accept much less than his previous sweet-deal-of-a-contract bonanza, which was $500 million in cash and stock for a five-year stint. That lucrative deal was struck during the Age of Bush.
Oh, boo hoo. Cry us all a river, Howie…
From Associated Press, Stern’s threat to quit Sirius could be empty talk:
Howard Stern is threatening to leave Sirius XM Radio Inc. now that the shock jock and the satellite radio provider are getting set to enter contract talks in 2010.
That threat probably seems less daunting to Sirius than it once would have. Sirius originally wanted Stern so badly that it gave him the most lucrative radio contract ever, a five-year deal that started in 2006 and paid him $500 million in cash and stock.
Today, he doesn’t have many places left to go — at least if he wants another huge payday.
Free radio stations are struggling with steep drops in advertising and high debt loads, and probably can’t pay top dollar to get Stern back to the medium where he began. He also likely would chafe at being censored again after enjoying the freedom of satellite radio, where his racy banter hasn’t been subject to federal restrictions on language and content.
He can’t switch to another satellite radio provider — Sirius swallowed the only other one, XM, last year.
So if Stern, 55, does re-sign with Sirius, it’s likely to be for less this time around.
Sirius nearly had to file for bankruptcy protection this year and is still trying to reduce costs. The company is feeling the brunt of weak auto sales, which deliver many of its new customers. And it faces new threats from emerging commercial-free rivals such as Internet radio.
For these reasons — and because Stern has warned other times that he might quit or retire — his latest threat rings hollow to some analysts.
[...]
Many of those radio stations have struggled since Stern left the free airwaves, and the recession compounded the problems. In the first nine months of the year, radio advertising revenue fell by 21 percent to $11.8 billion, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau.
Citadel Broadcasting Corp., the nation’s third-largest operator of radio stations, filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday. Other big station owners also are wrestling with debts, and the syndication division of the largest station owner, Clear Channel Communications Inc., already is believed to be paying Rush Limbaugh $400 million over an eight-year contract.
“Who else can afford Howard Stern?” Harriss said.
When Stern signed with Sirius, the company trailed XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. in the race for customers. It badly needed a marquee name to attract subscribers to its service, which delivers 130 radio channels anywhere in the country for $6.99 a month to $19.99 a month, depending on the package.
Now after buying XM for $3.3 billion, Sirius has 18.5 million subscribers, down slightly from a peak of 19 million at the end of last year. Sirius’ radio lineup beyond Stern includes Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, NFL games and Major League Baseball. Half of its channels are music and free of commercials, while the rest air sports, talk shows, news, entertainment, traffic and weather.
The company still has never posted a net profit. Revenue was nearly flat in the last quarter, and Sirius remains pressured to cut costs. Sirius narrowly avoided bankruptcy protection 10 months ago by getting $530 million in financing from Liberty Media Corp. Sirius had to give a 40 percent ownership stake to Liberty, which is controlled by satellite mogul John Malone.
As Sirius tries to get its finances in order, it must cope with threats from emerging technologies, such as Internet radio services that also deliver radio programming without commercials.
The company has been trying to cut costs. Sirius’ programming expenses in the past four quarters fell 18 percent from the total paid by Sirius and XM in the previous year, when they were still separate companies. Sirius has eliminated duplicative radio programs since it absorbed XM and found ways to reduce “on-air talent costs.”
Given the climate, if Stern returns to Sirius, “he’s not going to get $500 million again,” said Miller Tabak analyst David Joyce. Robert Eatman, the agent for Sirius talents Opie & Anthony and rapper Nick Cannon, agreed that Stern is “probably not worth” $500 million to Sirius now.
But the question will be just how much less Sirius can pay and still keep Stern.
Yep, times are tough all over, America. Looks like Stern will be joining the belt-tightening ranks of other millionaire (thanks to free market principles) Obama-bot celebrities. No tears being shed here.
During a time that so many Americans can’t find work or are about to lose their homes or can barely afford to buy groceries, we can all sigh in relief that Barack and Michelle Obama don’t have to pretend to care or make an effort to cut back, and that they’re enjoying their taxpayer-footed $4,000-a-night Hawaiian mansion during Obama’s Christmas vacation. Only the very, very best for our “royal couple,” POTUS and FLOTUS…
Additional reading on economic matters and on POTUS:
Charleston Daily Mail: Americans cut debt; Congress piles it on
Political Lipskip: Federal Pay Outrage
TimesNews.net: Number of federal workers getting 6-figure salaries explodes during recession; trend boosts average federal worker salary to $71,206
Real Clear Politics: Grade Inflation?
Jules Crittenden: Bad News For Bad Ideas
Commentary Magazine: Reid Panics
Sister Toldjah: Obama to Oprah: I’d rate my first year as a B+
Gateway Pundit: An Honest Appraisal- Hannity Gives Obama 3 F’s and an A+ and Obama Drops 48 Points In Approval Index in 1 Year… A Good Solid B+ and Barack Obama Gives Himself a B+ For Tripling Deficit & Nearly Doubling Unemployment in One Year and Obama Tells GOP to Stop Scare Tactics As Dems Agree to Blow Billions More on Another Failed Jobs Creation Plan and Obama Unemployment Rate Remains in Double Digits — 10.0%
GayPatriot: If Obama is really concerned about cutting the deficit, he should take lessons from a certain former Governor and Hey, Ma’am, what about the jobs in California?
MotorCityTimes: Obama ‘Plans To Spend’ Our Way Out Of Recession
On My Watch — The Writings of SamHenry: No, No – Not Another New Year of The Creeping Crumbling of the US
Moonbat Patrol: The Democratic Attack On Capitalism
Goodtimepolitics: Older Americans crowding soup kitchens
Greg Gutfeld, Big Hollywood: Daily Gut: The Real Santa
VotingFemale Speaks!: Breaking: Obama announces proposals aimed at saving a job, His and 76% Prefer Free Market Economy, DHS Watch List Must be HUGE! lol and CBC Threatens ‘Actions’ against Obama over unemployments; Pelosi claims Socialism’s failures are Bush’s Fault! hahaha and Between 100,000 and 200,000 doctors officially reject ObamaCare and Number of Democrats Falls to Four-Year Low, so says Rasmussen Poll; butt kicking of Socialism mounts
The New Ledger, Big Government: Unpacking the Job Numbers, Roadblocks for Bernanke, and the Future of Mainstream Media
Just Americans Making Ethical Statements Weblog: Message to White House: Cut TWO Jobs to Save Millions of Jobs
Ace of Spades HQ: Polls: Pollster.com’s Aggregated Average Puts Obama Underwater: Carville’s Democracy Corps Says Conservatives Make Big Gains
Hot Air: Cook report: Number of “likely” Democratic House seats down to … 218 and Examiner analysis: More than 10% of stimulus jobs are phony
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Numbskulls: Democrats Ignore Record Unemployment, Want to Give Illegal Aliens Amnesty Instead and Cold Christmas: Jobless Americans Increase, Times Tough… Unless You Work for Federal Government and Eye-Rolling Time… Obama Now Claims He “Created or Saved One Million Jobs” (video) and Illegal Immigration from Mexico Slowing, Has Dramatically Dropped Because of America’s Plunging Economy and Please Send in Clowns to Replace Obama Morons: Pay Increases Were Counted as Recovery Program’s “Jobs Saved”
The New Ledger, Big Government: Economy in the Lurch: Negative Interest Rates, the Fed Audit, and Geithner in the Dock and Do the Democrats Have Any Solutions on Jobs? Anything at All?
Steven Green, Big Government: The Political Landscape: The Slobs Versus the Snobs
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), Big Government: Mr. President, Where Are the Jobs?
Fire Andrea Mitchell!: Obama – we must spend our way out of this recession
Ace of Spades HQ: Reid: I’m So Totally Stoked My Health Care Reform Bill Will “Save” $127 Billion Over Ten Years, Which Is Less than October’s One Month Deficit
Outside the Beltway: Congress to Investigate Fake Districts
Socialism Is Not the Answer: Obama Still Blames Others
Mike Flynn, Big Government: Obama Stimulus Numbers: The Return of Enron-Style Accounting
Jumping in Pools: Obama Approval Under 50% According to Quinnipiac, Fox News, Rasmussen, and Gallup Polls
Michelle Malkin: The Stimulus Jobs Inflation Map and The Stimulus Jobs Inflation Index
Tai-Chi Policy: Just How Bad Is The Democrat’s Spending?
Doug O’Brien, Big Government: More Stimulus Math: Cooking the Books on Stimulus Jobs
The Powers That Be: Unemployment Stimulated Again
The American Pundit: Pork-Loving Senators Diverted Billions in Funds from Troops
Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Stimulus Creating “Full-Time Job Equivalents”
About the author
[...] here: Obama's Recession: Howard Stern May Have to Swallow His Gargantuan … Posted in New Cafe | Tags: conservative, free, free-airwaves, might-quit, other-times, [...]
Oh Howard just go away. Your lackluster performance as of late is a great indicator that your time is up. 4-day work weeks, Best of Stern all the time and side kicks that need to just go back to the drug use and the gutter they belong in.
This program is now poor and boring, hell Baba Booey sounds better on the after show. Worst of the deal is XM Sirius is now charging to listen to Howard on a GM Sirius/XM radio. Some merger, it was just another way to fleece subscribers.
I think there are many listeners who feel the same way but afraid to say it.
All the money has gone to the King of all Media’s head and he needs some real help from his high paid shrink to get this show back on track. $500 Million “not this time Howie” you lucked out last time and Mel better have some sense in his head before negoiating his contract.
[...] ‘Radio Personality of the Decade’ & “The Sopranos” ‘TV Show of the Decade’ and Obama’s Recession: Howard Stern May Have to Swallow His Gargantuan Pride & Accept Less than $5… and Napolitano Turns 180 Degrees, Admits DHS System “Failed Miserably” in Preventing Jihad [...]
I think his 15 minutes of fame was up long ago.
Take Robin, and go fly away.
Howard Stern more than paid for himself on Sirius, so they can’t lose him now.