Various news and gossip sites have been recently reporting that Howard Stern has been working on a new deal that will send him back to the FM dial on regular radio. Nothing Stern has said on his show recently would lead anyone to believe that is the case. The speculation could be due to the fact that the King of All Media has just entered the final year of the $500M contract with Sirius XM Satellite radio and has no new deal in place to stay with the company.
Fed up with the rumors and speculation, Howard finally addressed the possibility of a new deal sending him back to free radio:
“Let me just clear it all up… I’ve been contacted and, yes, people have approached me to go back. And, as of right now, I can’t imagine going back to that situation… but, the offers are out there. They come to me and they say ‘Radio lost a lot when you left’. It’s very flattering and I’m very honored, and I like it. I like the attention to be quite honest with you. But the thought of actually going to terrestrial radio is not on my radar at all.”
At this point it sounds like the issue is moot, but we’ll see as the end of the current contract grows closer and if satellite radio can even afford him again. Stern’s options are wide open at this point. He has even talked about starting his own production company and staying away from broadcasting all together.
Of course, Sirius XM could choose NOT to renew Stern in an attempt to raise their profit margin. They’ll obviously lose subscribers, but not paying out another huge contract with bonuses might easily offset losing a few customers.
In other Stern news, it sounds like no news is good news for show member Artie Lange. Howard’s only comment on the subject is that Artie is doing OK. Updates came fast and furious as the funny man hospitalized after a suicide attempt in early January, but after some of the facts came out immediately afterward, the show staff has been mum on the subject.
We’re going to be posting the full gallery of Miss Howard TV February, Danielle Marziano, tomorrow. For now, check out our preview from when she was first crowned Ms. Feb.
