Space Oddity

On Monday, Howard Stern—radio’s former bad boy—will take to the starwaves on Sirius Satellite Radio as its new golden child. On Friday, December 14, Stern signed off of New York’s K-Rock and all terrestrial radio syndicates, closing the door on a run of almost twenty years as radio’s most-listened-to (and most scrutinized) morning-drive host.

Monday, Stern’s morning show moves to Sirius’ Howard 100, a new station programmed by the shock-jock himself. In addition to his morning show, Stern has revealed that the station will broadcast original sitcoms, news, game shows, talk shows and perhaps even movies.

The move to Sirius was prompted by three factors.

First, satellite radio is entirely unregulated by the FCC. In recent years, Stern’s racy content and locker-room humor has drawn more of the FCC’s ire than any other of radio personality. But because satellite radio is a subscription service and is not broadcast on the public airwaves, it falls outside of the FCC’s jurisdiction. Like premium movie networks (such as HBO and Cinemax), it is left to subscribers to voice their objections by canceling subscriptions. And in the days leading up to the launch of Howard 100, Sirius hasn’t seen many cancellations. When Howard signed with Sirius a little over a year ago, they had about 600,000 subscribers. On December 27, Sirius announced that they had passed the three-million-subscriber mark. Sirius is able to give Stern complete creative license, and that’s something that terrestrial radio could never do

The second factor, in my opinion, is Mel Karmazin. Karmazin was the CEO Viacom for many years. In the tangled amalgam of media ownership, he was the head honcho of K-Rock during much of Stern’s tenure there. And he was Stern’s biggest supporter, even going so far as defending him before Congress. Karmazin fought the FCC when he could win and paid the fines when he couldn’t. Karmazin took the job of CEO at Sirius shortly after leaving Viacom, and I believe that Stern’s move to satellite has a lot to do with his desire to work again for Karmazin.

And then there’s the almighty dollar. Sirius has committed to spend $100 million a year to produce Stern’s show, a sum than includes Howard’s salary. It’s a safe bet that he’ll be raking in significantly more dough than he was at terrestrial radio.

But does Howard’s departure from the airwaves indicate the imminent demise of FM radio? I doubt it. I’m the first to admit that Sirius is a fantastic product. I’m not a subscriber, but it comes included in my DISH Network service, and I listen. It’s commercial free, offers loads of variety, has compelling and knowledgeable DJs, and is probably worth $12.95 a month for its 120+ channels. But it’s no substitute for live, local FM radio. I can’t listen to Sirius and find out about an accident on Telshor. Sirius doesn’t tell me about the local hotspots for New Year’s Eve. Sirius doesn’t give me prizes and I can’t hang out with their DJs at a live remote broadcast.

People don’t subscribe to HBO and then quit watching the networks. I know a lot of people who subscribe to satellite radio, but they haven’t quit listening to their favorite FM stations. Sirius subscribers listen to satellite radio for its music and content, but when they need information about what’s happening in their world, FM will always be here.

-From Pulse
January 5, 2006

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Howard’s End

  In the radio business, the water-cooler talk for the last six months or so has been Howard Stern’s impending move to satellite radio: unregulated pastures that, for potty-mouthed Howard, are greener.  How will terrestrial radio survive, losing its most controversial, most listened-to, most irreverent shock-jock?

  The real buzz, however, is about who will replace him.  Radio is, in many ways, a medium in search of a savior.  With recent interest in iPods and podcasting, internet radio and satellite radio, everyone seems worried about the future of the FM dial. 

  But I’m not.  Innovative technology is already being tested in markets as large as Miami—technology that could change the face of radio forever.  Digital signals are being broadcast on sub-bands, allowing four stations (and in some cases more) to use the same FM frequency.  It’s complicated and technical, and we’ll go into it another time.  But it could give the ultra-niche formats of satellite radio a run for their money, all the while being live and local.

  I don’t think that radio needs a savior, but that doesn’t keep industry insiders from talking.  And as long as Stern’s unnamed heir is being charged with saving our world, I guess it should be noted that over the past three weeks we have all come a step closer to finding out who that will be.

  Stern, who no longer has any loyalty to Viacom (his soon-to-be former employer), has let the cat out of the bag.  He claims to have inside information that David Lee Roth will be his replacement in New York City, and that Adam Carolla will be taking over several of Stern’s west coast affiliates, including Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco.  “I know it for a fact,” Stern has said.

  The jury’s still out on whether Roth can hang with radio’s big dogs.  He is inexperienced at radio; he’s a has-been rocker with huge name recognition.  But why would David Lee Roth give up his life as an EMT for the highest-profile gig in radio?  If Roth flops, perhaps they’ll hand the reins over to Sammy Hagar, and he can do it live from Cabo.  Perish the thought.

  Carolla’s show seems more certain and more promising.  On August 4, Carolla called in to talk to Howard about his new Comedy Central show, “Too Late With Adam Carolla.”  Stern quickly shifted the focus to the rumors.  Carolla said that, while nothing had been signed, Stern’s assessment sounded “tentatively correct.”  He also noted that he was told not to say anything about his plans as Stern’s successor.

  I only hope that Carolla’s bid for the Stern show isn’t soured by “Too Late,” which is slipshod and rambling, at best.  Maxim Online recently gave it one and a half stars, noting that “it feels like it was thrown on the air with about 12 minutes of planning.”  I’m a big fan of Carolla’s and would like to see the show succeed, but after the first few episodes it’s hard to imagine it outliving the three-month probationary period.

  Let’s hope that Carolla’s strong showing for ten years on radio’s “Loveline” is enough to seal the deal with the Infinity stations who are looking to pick him up when Stern’s syndication contract runs out next month. 

 -From Pulse
   August 25, 2005

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