Long story, going way back. I think it was around 2002 when I bought my first satellite radio kit. I remember spending an entire evening installing the kit in my car, I went with XM over Sirius. At the time I don’t think Howard had signed with anyone yet. I travelled so much for work in rental cars that I actually would take my XM kit with me. It wasn’t really portable but I made it portable, slapping the antenna on a roof of my rental with wires everywhere.
Eventually cars came with XM and then the app changed the game for good, but that was much later. Anyway at some point I jumped ship to Sirius and then they merged (Sirius and XM) which all reintroduced me to Howard Stern who I hadn't heard on a regular basis since the 90s.
I loved listening to Stern, and thought the wack pack and his staff were all hilarious although I felt Robin Quivers was annoying. I always thought all she did was agree with Howard the entire show, but if someone were paying me millions a year I’d probably agree with them too.
Wack packers and support staff would come and go, and somewhere Howard became known as an interviewer and I thought he always did an excellent job. He (or his staff) did their homework and he always asked great questions. A lot of celebrities I couldn’t stand I found respect for from his interviews. On the other hand a lot of people I admired, I no longer did after some of those interviews.
Worst interview ever: Cardi B
Most snotty person interview: Jennifer Aniston
One of most interesting: Ice-T
Sometimes I’d get burnt out and take a break for a month, then come back. Then COVD happened. By this point some of his most entertaining staff left (Schully, Brett) and were replaced by duds. On top of this Howard refused to come out of his house for years. Howard has more money than god and expects to live forever so he was determined to never get COVID while his staff all joined by something like a Zoom teleconference. Eventually the staff returned to the office but Stern still stayed at home long after it was okay to come out of hiding from COVID.
With this change the chemistry of the show was lost, and it’s never come back. I have not listened on a regular basis for almost 2 years and spend my time on SiriusXM listening solely to music. Apparently I’m not alone because I read last night he’s gone from 2 million daily listeners to just 125,000.
He has an entire staff, how much staff does Joe Rogan or Call Her Daddy podcast have? It sounds like (if true) SiriusXM will it get the return on investment on Stern this time around.
He’s gotten to the point where he’s boring, and he used to make fun of Don Imus’ downfall but it looks like he’s suffering the same demise.
If I were to bet, he may sign a year or two contract and be done, or if the media drama gets too big he may walk away. SiriusXM is interested in purchasing his entire catalog to reply (forever I would assume) and I’m sure that would give him a big payday. Some of his old interviews and segments are pure gold and people would pay to have access to listen to those on repeat.
A lot of people with claim this is all political if SiriusXM doesn’t renew him, and I wouldn’t doubt it plays some part, but I think it’s mostly listeners preferences have changed, there are more interesting options these days (he used to make fun of podcast “losers” all the time) and mostly, people don’t want to listen to a grouchy old man bitch all day anymore.
Were you ever a Howard Stern fan?
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last commentStern and Robin were updated versions of Carson and McMahon, with Quivers playing McMahon's role perfectly. Never a fan. Always thought he was an asshole.
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I stopped listening after Artie Lange left. Back in the day Howard was fucking hilarious. I mean you can always youtube Billy West Howard stern for like crying laughter level stuff.
He gives these nice interviews now, he used to be such a huge asshole to his guests. Isn't he still wearing mask, hiding in his basement?
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I always thought he was an asshole, but he was a funny asshole
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25 is a truly awful person. Fighting back against his bullying and bullshit can bring out the worst in others. We shouldn't allow him to drag us down to his level. We are better than him; he is simply not worth it.
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^ This was a post worthy of Icey. Completely out of place on this thread.
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Howard Stern was like most liberal shock comics. Once the novelty wore off, his act became boring. Like Bill Maher, he needed armies of writers ( all New York liberals like himself) to create content to fill his time slot. One of Stern's top rivals, Mancow Muller, was way better in comparison.
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And all of skibum's rants are out of place anywhere but a ghetto
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When I was younger my friend had box seating for the Ranger games at Madison Square Garden, a few blocks of seats down from the box seating that Howard Stern had from his radio show, and very often I would see Donald Trump in Sterns section usually with Howard, and Robin Quivers.
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^^ I keep forgetting you make Icey seem manly, you fucking blowhard moron.
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The problem is his audience is aging and younger people aren't in to him.
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That’s a funny story from the way back machine! Similar to yours I got the Sirius lifetime subscription for $500 and probably one of the best entertainment investments I ever made.i remember hauling around my “portable kit” whenever charging vehicles and taking it down when I had to get the car washed. Thank goodness for the app nowadays. Maybe I’m getting too old but I have met listened to stern in two years either. The talk show industry is changing so much I’m thinking Howard will probably scale back to podcasts or doing the show once or twice a week for about 30 weeks out of the year. Fact is I prefer my local conservative news show and NPR, which won’t get shit down due to living in a large metro area. Sucks if you live in the rural areas and relegated to Hicksville conservative radio as your only option.
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skibum is hilariously thin-skinned. He's an even bigger bitch than his gefilte fish partner cockholster 25iq
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^ Nobody is a bigger bitch than you gumby you’re an even bigger cunt, than your faggit butty iceberg fats
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Pretty sure the reason Stern's ratings are shit is because he decided to be a left-wing political hack instead of the host of a comedy show. He's an asshole just like Springsteen and DeNiro. (I was a former fan of all three, but no more.) Stern should take all his money and get a 12" dick extension so he can literally go fuck himself.
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Occasionally, I would be scrolling through SiriusXM and catch an interview he was doing with a musical artist or the like. Some of his interviews were good, but the rest of the show was absolute dreck. I don't think younger listeners are into his Borscht Belt humor, and he was a Kamala worshiper. Would SiriusXM have been more reasonably priced if they weren't paying this guy $100 million per year?
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Gam is simply the perfect young pretend male that passes as a man in this trans world we're living in. Good thread that he ruins by whining at 25 for nothing, then when called on it he acts like the little bitch he cannot avoid being.
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Skifredo is another truly awful person. Fighting back against his bullying and bullshit can bring out the worst in others. We shouldn't allow him to drag us down to his level. We are better than him; he is simply not worth it.
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Stern is another miserable bastard from a city filled with miserable bastards. Seriously, he goes to a shrink four days a week and drinks himself into a coma every night. He's also said that he doesn't hate Trump, and while he believes Trump does not belong anywhere near the White House, it is the people who voted for Trump whom he hates. He has also stated he is proud to be woke. Just more reasons to ignore another miserable bastard from the northeast.
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^ Every day you find new ways to show us what a loser you are!
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Radio?
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25 is a truly awful person. Fighting back against his bullying and bullshit can bring out the worst in others. We shouldn't allow him to drag us down to his level. We are better than him; he is simply not worth it.
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👏👏
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I never really listened to Howard Stern, but then again, about the only radio talk shows that I ever listen to are sports shows such as Full Ride. So I just never heard enough of Stern to form an opinion one way or the other. I thought the movie Private Parts was really good, though...
Just speaking purely in general terms, though, and not about Stern, it can be hard for anyone to stay on top forever. People can change, the people around them can change, the world changes, etc. Sometimes you get just the right combination at just the right time to have a great run, but there's no guarantee that run will last forever...
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Demographics change and we boy the gen X and older generations will listen to him. Stern doesn’t drink, so I’m sure he’s got a few good years left, just not sure what platform will suit him best going forward. Sirius stock has been beaten down, but like Icey said, radio is dead.
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It’s been at least 30 years since I listened to him. I drove for a living then. When I stopped driving a lot, I stopped listening. His show was funny. Fred and Billy West were hilarious. Billy West doing Larry from the 3 Stooges at Woodstock is a classic.
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^Billy West, classic.
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billy west doing jackie in front of jackie was always epic. most of the time he was even the most funniest between the two.
the only reason i got sirius was because of stern. it was fucking awesome!!! stern unchained from fcc bullshit. the bits with the various characters and misfits, interviews, and even robin doing the news i'll always have fond memories.
overtime though it was starting to lose its appeal. artie was done, the show eventually was only going to be on 4 times a week. took off every holiday. and the worst of was the commercial breaks, as there were so many of them and each would be long as fuck. as a result when around 2010 rolled around and it was time for a subscription renewal i just went no more.
yeah losing your audience gradually over the years from 2 million to 120000 meant that he turned off the majority of his diehard fanbase. i'd see guys like artie saying how stern is not the same guy he used to know. basically morphed into the type of guy that he always despised. celebrities he used to goof on and even hated he eventually would suck up to and be part of the elites.
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If this is the end he’s had a helluva career. I was a kid in NY when he came to WNBC. He was the most outrageous thing I’d ever heard. Listened through the K-Rock days as he got more and more anti establishment and the channel 9 show. I probably still have VHS of those shows somewhere. He was really funny.
Eye opener was when started the nightly interviews on the E! channel. Really showed his skills as an interviewer. I didn’t initially follow him to Sirius as my commute changed to less than 15 minutes and I couldn’t justify the cost. About 5 years ago I got a car with a free trial and started listening again. He’s definitely mellowed but what the hell, he’s 70, divorced remarried and has grandkids. That’ll change your perspective. He used to stay away from politics and I wish he still would. He’s not good at it.
His interviews are still really good and I’ll listen if I’m interested in the guest. His love of music is also really coming through. I’m less interested in Sal and Richard sticking their fingers up each other’s asses and that stuff. Sirius just raised the price on me so I canceled. They’ll usually call back and offer $6-8 a month on a year promotion and then we do that cancel/discount negotiation every year. I guess that means I’m fine dropping him unless there’s a steep discount.
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I thought Howard had an ownership stake in Sirius/XM? As someone said that probably isn't worth as much as it once was but still....
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I’ve listened to Howard off and on since the 90’s in syndication, and on Sirius - depending on whether I had the basic or premium account. I’d say he’s somewhat iconic, and I really enjoy his in studio performances (Lady Gaga solo on the piano comes to mind), but I haven’t listened since COVID, so it sounds like his schtick is failing to resonate with today’s audiences. So after 40 years or so on the radio, no one would blame him (or mind) if he decided it was time to hang it up.
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I have bought 3 new cars (Mustangs) in the last 10 years and they all came with a free 6 month membership to Sirius. I never activated any of them. I used home burnt CD's and now USB sticks to play my favorite music.
Howard Stern I could take or leave. I think he is now too full of himself and I generally think all entertainers are over paid.
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I don't listen to much radio anymore podcasts have completely taken over.
Opie and Anthony during the Patrice O'neal i don't know if that will ever topped, so fucking funny. Joe Rogan has stated multiple this is what inspired him to start his podcast.
I also used to listen to a local sports radio show called Mike and the Mad Dog, it really was a great show back in the day. I can't listen to sports radio otherwise but that one was must listen to back in the day. I wasn't the only one, got big time ratings.
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Mad Dog has his own channel on Sirius.
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I never cared for Stern. I remember when XM gave him a $400M contract, insane. It was a time XM was building an audience. His time truly has past. Like he doesn't have enough money at this point? He needs to leave SiriusXM (I have it, not his channel though) and move to a Pod broadcast.
I will say, when I use to watch AGT, he was very good judge which surprised me.
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I’ve been a listener since the WNNNNNNNNBC days and his show has changed as he has aged. It used to be a “must do” every day for me, but now if I tune in every week or two it’s a lot. He has become what he railed against and his interviews are uneven at best.
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