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The Official Howard Stern Show Thread

G

gdt

Member
daycru said:
Started listening to the show through umm... nefarious means a few months ago, loved it so much I got a Sirius sub. I have no idea how I lived without the show before, totally wasted 24 years :lol

The man who laughs at everything is my favorite bit, a dog who's also a district attorney? Absurd!
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Man, I've been listening since I was...12? I'm 20 now. Being from NJ and being a Stern fan is like one and the same.
 
G

gdt

Member
So, I'm catching up right now, and the wrap up of Pete's date is fucking crushing :lol ! Jesus Christ that guy needs help.


Does anyone know what they're playing this vacation week?
 
N

nocode

Member
gdt5016 said:
So, I'm catching up right now, and the wrap up of Pete's date is fucking crushing :lol ! Jesus Christ that guy needs help.


Does anyone know what they're playing this vacation week?
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Best of 2009 all week I Believe.
 
G

gdt

Member
Really enjoying this so far Some of these seemed like they ranked too low, but that could only mean good things :D . The Benji/Richard freakout was fucking awesome.
 
N

nocode

Member
gdt5016 said:
Really enjoying this so far Some of these seemed like they ranked too low, but that could only mean good things :D . The Benji/Richard freakout was fucking awesome.
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Haha, I love towards the end after Howard calmed down a bit, and then goes from zero to sixty in a split second, and starts screaming at Benji.
 
G

gdt

Member
http://blogs.reuters.com/summits/2009/11/30/sirius-ceo-karmazin-limbers-up-for-the-howard-stern-dance/

Sirius CEO Karmazin limbers up for the Howard Stern dance
Posted by: Alexei Oreskovic

It’s been five years since Sirius lured shock jock Howard Stern to satellite radio with a $500 million contract. Whether Stern can re-up with a similar deal when his contract expires at the end of next year is anyone’s guess, but it ought to be entertaining. Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin is preparing himself for negotiations with the self-proclaimed King of All Media.

In a meeting with reporters at the Reuters Media Summit on Monday, Karmazin gave us a thumbnail sketch of his version of “The Art of the Deal.”

“I could tell you, it will start with Howard feeling that he is working too hard and doing too many shows and not making enough money. Our side would say, ‘We want you to do more, and get less money,’” Karmazin said.

“That would be how we would go into the room once the time came to go into the room. And the hope would be that we would come out with Howard staying with our service,” he said.

Karmazin praised Stern as “a talent like no other in radio,” but would not say whether such a talent was still worth a half billion dollars.

“You have to now assume that the negotiations are at a stage where everything is in print, so if I were to say, yes, we got every penny’s worth, Howard would come in with that piece of paper and say ‘See? I sold myself too cheap,’” he said.

Stern is one of the biggest draws of Sirius XM’s satellite radio service, which counts 18.5 million subscribers. His decision to exit FM radio for Sirius in 2004 is credited with establishing satellite radio as an established form of media, though some analysts have also noted that high-priced contracts like Stern’s contributed to financial woes that pushed Sirius to the brink of bankruptcy earlier this year.

Stern is not the only big personality whom Karmazin may face at the bargaining table; Oprah Winfrey’s contract for her Sirius talk show ends in 2011. While Karmazin said he has not yet had talks with Oprah, he said that satellite radio could become a more valuable promotional tool for Oprah once she quits her broadcast TV show.

Asked whether Oprah or Stern was the tougher negotiator, Karmazin said both previously got the best of him.

“I’ll tell you who was the worst negotiator: It was always Mel because they got all that money from me.”
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Interesting article.
 
G

gdt

Member
Count Dookkake said:
Doesn't everyone on GAF know of Custer's Revenge? I mean I was surprised to hear it referenced on the Stern show, but among gamers it is pretty infamous.
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This is my thought as well.
 
N

nocode

Member
Count Dookkake said:
Doesn't everyone on GAF know of Custer's Revenge? I mean I was surprised to hear it referenced on the Stern show, but among gamers it is pretty infamous.
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Same here. Depends on how old you are I suppose.
 
J

Jube3

Member
Nah I had not heard of the game till then. The 50 cent interview was great and I even found the Kardashian one interesting as well though it got a lot of hate. The rant on gary was classic howard yesterday lol.
 
T

theJwac

Member
Dude, Artie needs to go. I love Artie but this is fucking ridiculous. EDIT: I guess he could be at his DUI driving classes, but I think Howard would have mentioned that. Or I think Artie would have mentioned it yesterday so the audience wouldn't immediately think he was back on drugs.
 
P

PacoDG

Member
klonipins(sp?) act like xanax, maybe not as strong dose vs dose, but as long as you up the dosage of klonipins, I have no doubts that is what artie is doing today :(

edit: I like artie, but if they were to fire him, they would need a replacement right away and/or more guests in, I can't stand when howard and robin are left alone :\
 
G

gdt

Member
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE when it's just Howard and Robin. Fred usually gets more spotlight as well.
 
P

PacoDG

Member
I can't deny I always love more of fred speaking up (even if it is in other peoples voices)

but still, someone else has to be there to keep things moving.

note: i haven't got to hear todays show yet, but will when i get to work tomorrow, i was just looking at the show notes and was like 'wtf, god dammit artie!'.. i was thinking he was going to be absent again even since he mentioned what the doctor gave him.... and the way he mentions klonipins as though he didn't know what they are or what they do (i know he didnt say those words, but when talking about the medicines and shit, he kind of acts innocent to the effects of the shit he is taking)
 
Bog

Bog

Junior Ace
I lost it when Stern started getting mad at Sirius management during the news on Wednesday, and then ended up taking it all out on Gary for no reason.
 
N

nocode

Member
Bog said:
I lost it when Stern started getting mad at Sirius management during the news on Wednesday, and then ended up taking it all out on Gary for no reason.
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Haha, when he told Gary "this is me liking you, calm down!" I lost it.:lol
 
Z

ZeoVGM

Banned
I loved the audio I heard last week of Howard saying he could have radio hosts fired if he wants, but he doesn't because he doesn't want that "karma."

Oh, Howard. :lol
 
G

gdt

Member
omg rite said:
I loved the audio I heard last week of Howard saying he could have radio hosts fired if he wants, but he doesn't because he doesn't want that "karma."

Oh, Howard. :lol
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Dude. It was a joke.
 
M

MagicJackBauer

Banned
Gary Whitta said:
What's the deal with Artie this time? Yet another long, unexplained AWOL?
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He was ordered to take time off from management. Other than that Howard hasn't said much. He says its Artie's story to tell.
 
G

Gary Whitta

Member
MagicJackBauer said:
He was ordered to take time off from management. Other than that Howard hasn't said much. He says its Artie's story to tell.
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Wow I'd love to know the story behind that. Something tells me it ain't pretty.
 
G

gdt

Member
Apparently Sirius told Artie to take time off.

I like Artie, but the show was so fresh this week without him.

Really looking forward to History of Howard Act III.
 
G

Gary Whitta

Member
I agree I did not miss him at all this week, I have a pretty low opinion of his contribution to the show generally. Either he's so lazy you wonder why he's even there or he's all amped up and constantly interrupting with misfiring humor. A mess.
 
C

Clipjoint

Member
Yeah...not good.

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C

Clipjoint

Member
No one is really sure what Artie was doing. He might have been trying to hide his eyes from 50, or he might have been skin popping and got caught. Either way, he's pretty obviously back on heroin, and probably in a mandatory rehab.
 
G

gdt

Member
GREAT article on Howard's future at Sirius.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/21/AR2009122102183.html?wprss=rss_technology/washtech

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.

"It's probably positioning for contract negotiations," said Brett Harriss, an analyst at Gabelli & Co., whose parent Gamco Investors Inc. owns 1.1 million shares of Sirius. "I don't think he would give up his bullhorn."

Sirius' chief executive, Mel Karmazin, told The Associated Press in a recent interview that he will work hard to retain Stern, but the company would not offer more detailed comments. Stern's agent, Don Buchwald, did not respond to requests for comment.

Stern made his name on traditional or "terrestrial" radio. While Sirius mainly makes its money from selling subscriptions, the money that flowed to Stern on traditional radio came from syndication rights. In that setup, radio stations pay companies that distribute programs such as Stern's.

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.

Stern accounts for about $80 million of Sirius' annual programming costs, which have totaled $365 million over the past four quarters. The $80 million covers Stern's salary, wages for his staff and production and operating expenses, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The remainder of the contract was paid in stock.

There are no independent ratings available to track the popularity of Stern's show, which airs Mondays through Thursdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. But he has been so important to Sirius that he was the sole radio talent mentioned in SEC filings from 2006 through 2009 as a party whose failure could hurt Sirius' business. (Automakers were also among the listed entities.) In his first year at Sirius, Stern received a stock bonus worth $82.9 million because Sirius' subscriber count exceeded an agreed-upon target by more than 2 million.

Stern could leave to start a new venture, perhaps a subscription service that sends his show to PCs and mobile devices. Sirius already streams Stern's shows online and through the iPhone. Or he could explore more options in cable TV, where his first pay-per-view special, "Howard Stern's Negligee and Underpants Party," was offered in 1988.

Stern also could retire.

"Howard has the creative and business freedom to do what he wants to. He can just about write his own ticket in a number of areas," said Tom Taylor, executive news editor of Radio-Info.com, which tracks the radio industry. "He doesn't need to do anything. He's going to pay the rent fine."
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I think if Howard resigns it will be for a totally different schedule. Less days/different hours. If Sirius doesn't want that and/or won't pay the same amount he got last time (which I don't believe they can afford), Howard could go ahead and retire.

He owns all of the tapes, so it's not like Sirius can keep playing that stuff. Not to mention that he doesn't ever have to work again. He could go home...

But I think Howard doesn't want to stop working altogether right now.

Edit: Lol, I love how they interviewed O&A's agent on Howard.


BTW, really enjoying HoHS.
 
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