Friday, November 10, 2006
Forbes: A Feature Story On Howard Stern
(note the publication date of 11.27.06 even though it hit the wires on 11.10.06)
On The Cover/Top Stories
DethronedEvan Hessel 11.27.06,
www.forbes.comWhy is the King of All Media giving away his show?
When Howard Stern signed on with Sirius satellite radio in 2004, the shock jock swore off free radio and its federally mandated decency standards--for life. Last month he found himself suddenly broadcasting free of charge once again.
For two days Sirius let listeners tap its Web site and listen to Stern for free, for the first time since his satellite debut in January. It touted Sirius' new move to let Internet users get 75 channels, without having to buy a Sirius satellite radio, for $12.95 a month; satellite listeners pay the same price for 130 channels. Stern also started temporarily selling episodes of his on-demand cable TV show for a penny apiece, instead of $7.95.
Acts of desperation--or savvy moves to reignite his realm in digital radio? Disconnected from his huge daily audience in the old broadcast world, Stern has slipped as a cultural force. His media mentions are down 23% year-to-date compared with 2004. Sirius has 5.1 million subscribers--up 4.4 million since it first signed the self-proclaimed King of All Media--but only a portion of that total tunes in to Stern. Yet on old radio he had a daily audience of 12 million.
In April Stern griped to Entertainment Weekly: "It's insulting to me that everyone hasn't come with me. I take it personally." (Stern later claimed on air the quote was taken out of context.)
Sirius posted a record $853 million loss last year on sales of $242 million. Programming costs are up 167% this year, owing in part to the $80 million Sirius will spend producing Howard's show. Since Stern's satellite debut, Sirius shares are down 44% to $3.72. The star himself may have taken a hit. In January Sirius handed him 31.3 million shares, then worth $236 million, as part of his five-year contract, valued at $500 million in cash and stock. The stock would be worth $116 million today; Sirius doesn't know whether he has dumped any shares....read more:
here11/10/2006 02:44:00 PM
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