The Howard Stern thread

[The New Fiona Apple]

I've been a big listener for years (thanks to my dad). My First R rated movie was Private Parts when I was 8 years old for god sakes. My dad got a Sirius radio and I've been listening to Howard 100 quite a bit.

I enjoy the new show, although it's not completely revolutionary or everything, it's nice to hear without the dump button and George Takei is friggin hillarious (Oh my!).  It definately is a higher quality show and I enjoyed hearing the Pat O Brien tapes unedited.

I'm Austrian, I don't give a sh*t!

[Dr. Blutarsky]

Stern is awesome. The way he does things being open and honest makes the audience feel like they know him.

[Where is Hassan Nasrallah ?]

i thought that people liked stern because of the naked girls and the titty talks ?

[The New Fiona Apple]

i thought that people liked stern because of the naked girls and the titty talks ?

That's not all of what the show is about

[Chelle]

Howard = Sexy   

[Sterlingdog]

i thought that people liked stern because of the naked girls and the titty talks ?

No, but that's a common misconception.  Especially for people who haven't heard the show on a regular basis, and have just seen the E Show. 

[McGann]

If you're a Stern fan,
And if you have Sirius,
You'll know what I mean.

I missed some today
And find out it was ARTIE
Who revealed himself

The recipient
Of some guy's load on his chest!!!
What was the story??


Splash

/Mike

[Sterlingdog]

If you're a Stern fan,
And if you have Sirius,
You'll know what I mean.

I missed some today
And find out it was ARTIE
Who revealed himself

The recipient
Of some guy's load on his chest!!!
What was the story??


Splash

/Mike

I missed the whole show today.     So if anyone heard and can tell me all the revelations, I'd really appreciate it. 

[pilferk]

Anyone looking for Stern show recaps can find them here:

www.marksfriggin.com


I was away last week at a conference, so only heard the shows yesterday and today.  The Revelation stuff (which was pretty much most of the show) was just awesome.  The rest of the show was pretty damn good, too.

So far it's pretty good stuff.  But he has a lot of pent up material right now.  The question is can he stay interesting for a year or more...  I think he probably can, but we'll have to wait and see.

[Rob]

If you're a Stern fan,
And if you have Sirius,
You'll know what I mean.

I missed some today
And find out it was ARTIE
Who revealed himself

The recipient
Of some guy's load on his chest!!!
What was the story??


Splash

/Mike

Do you really want to hear the story behind that?   

[KeVoRkIaN]

I have 2 Sanyo Sirius Recievers with car and home kits and a 2 year US subscription that will be hooked to them upon payment. I am selling them separate and live in Canada.  If anyone wants the Stern show without the need for a US address and account and lives in Canada - PM me.  I can send photos.  This is all at cost and not a dollar more.

[Rob]

I gotta say, those revelations weren't that interesting.  Artie's was pretty funny, and Howard's was also somewhat interesting.  The rest were either boring or just stupid.

[Kujo]

And so it begins............
From todays New York Post:
January 23, 2006 -- Howard Stern may be coming down with a Sirius case of the bleeps.
High-level executives of the satellite broadcaster are developing an internal standards-and-practices document that will set boundaries for Stern and other shock jocks, The Post has learned.

?It?s something that?s being taken very seriously," a Sirius source said.

Stern's new show also is being broadcast on a time-delay, giving him the opportunity to censor the program ? which he already has done.

Stern moved to Sirius in part because satellite-radio services such as Sirius and XM ? unlike free terrestrial radio ? are not policed by the FCC, which spent years waging an indecency war against him.

The battle resulted in big-bucks fines against Stern and his former employers at Viacom.

XM, which is now home to shock jocks Opie and Anthony, confirmed that it has had its own guidelines in place for some time, but declined to provide details.

The standards of the private satellite broadcasters can be far looser than those imposed by the FCC on the public airways.

Sirius' move toward self-censorship comes as pressure continues to mount in Congress to regulate programming on cable and satellite radio and TV.

For years, cable executives have resisted government threats of regulation, claiming that self-policing has been sufficient.

It's a move satellite radio seems to be getting ready to emulate.

But even with Stern safely out of the FCC's reach, his foes, including self-appointed anti-obscenity crusaders like John B. Thompson, argue that other government agencies should take up the cause.

"The DOJ [Department of Justice] now has the chance to make amends for its laxity during Stern's criminal conduct on terrestrial radio for 25 years," the Florida lawyer wrote to Bruce Taylor, who oversees the DOJ's Criminal Division in a Jan. 9 letter obtained by The Post. Meanwhile, Stern himself has asked for some restraint on his show, encouraging his staff not to use profanity too often.

On one occasion last week, Stern even "dumped" out a minor bit of his own broadcast to protect the identity of a staff member's family.

On Stern's old show, the dump switch was controlled by station officials, who frequently bleeped out racy material.

It's not clear whether Stern knew he'd be subject to any limitations when he signed on with Sirius, which is paying him about $100 million a year.

He also was awarded $220 million in stock after the company reported that it had signed up more than 3 million new subscribers, boosting its total to 3.3 million. XM has more than 6 million subscribers.

Sirius officials did not return calls for comment on the proposal.

The imposition of loose standards is not likely to put much of a dent into Stern's free-for-all broadcasts or scare off any of his advertisers, an expert said.

"I believe this is just an attempt to put things in place if and when [the government] turns up the heat on satellite radio, much like it has with cable from time to time," said Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University.

"In the end, it won't mean much to the average listener or advertiser."

Advertisers are paying less for Stern's spots on Sirius than they did for his show on traditional radio ? especially since there is no way to verify how many Sirius subscribers are tuning in to his show.

Sources said it may be as little as half of the $20,000 per 30-second spot that had been floated when he signed up.

[MR.BROWNSTONE]

Howard Stern's departure from terrestrial radio has proved to be a boon to those he left behind.

While the shock jock appears to have attracted over 1 million subscribers to Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., many analysts and consultants believe the exodus is starting to slow with many of the remaining 8 million Stern fans staying tuned to terrestrial radio, listening to his former competitors.

"They have scattered to other places. In a lot of cases other morning shows have benefited. Howard's going away is something that other morning shows have prayed for for years," said Tom Taylor, editor of Inside Radio, a radio publication and database service owned by Clear Channel Communications Inc. , the nation's largest radio operator.

Radio rating company Arbitron Inc. is set to release ratings data on April 26 covering the period from just after Stern left terrestrial radio, in January 2006, through March.

But interim Arbitron data has shown slippage at some of Stern's former CBS Corp. stations in key markets, where he was replaced by former Van Halen frontman     David Lee Roth on the East Coast and comic Adam Carolla on the West Coast.

A Jacobs Media poll of more than 25,000 listeners of 79 rock stations across the country indicates that 7 out of 10 former Stern listeners continue to listen to terrestrial morning radio shows.

A smaller sampling of five former Stern affiliate stations indicates that about 3 out of 10 listeners are now tuning into competing, established morning shows rather than Stern's replacements.

"Some shows are in a better position to attract and retain Stern's listeners than others," said Fred Jacobs, president of the radio consulting firm that conducted the survey.

"We've had a number of clients who absolutely strategized on how to attract former Stern listeners," he said, noting that Greater Media Inc.'s Philadelphia station WMMR ran billboards in the last months of Stern's terrestrial run, stating that no subscription was required for listeners to tune its morning "Preston & Steve" show.

One former Stern affiliate station that appears to be emerging as a big winner is Entercom Communications Corp.'s KISW-FM in Seattle with its "B.J. Shea" show, according to Jacobs.

Other industry experts also noted that National Public Radio has attracted Stern listeners because it appeals more to his ribald talk show's fan base than say, conservative talk shows. Other listeners are finding new alternatives.

"NPR stations have benefited. I think all kinds of other stations are benefiting, while other listeners have plugged in their iPods and taken along CDs and are listening more online," said Taylor.

To be sure, Sirius says the Stern factor in boosting its paid subscriptions is far from over. Its subscribers have jumped from 700,000 in October 2004 when Stern first announced his defection to satellite, which took place in January 2006, to 4 million by mid-March.

"We think that Howard Stern is going to add subscribers every single day. Obviously for the 20 years that he was with his prior employer, he created value for them every single year and we obviously fully expect that to continue going forward," said Mel Karmazin, Sirius' chief executive officer, during the company's fourth-quarter earnings conference call in February.

"The idea that it's only going to effect fourth-quarter or first-quarter is lame. I think that this is something that is going to continue throughout the five years at least of his (Howard's) contract," he said.

But various analysts are assuming the Stern effect on subscriptions is beginning to dissipate.

"I think the Stern momentum has largely played itself out and will probably kick in again Christmas, but the big ramp that was associated with Stern coming is probably over," said David Bank, analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

Source: Yahoo News

[Dr. Blutarsky]

The $15 per month is well worth it, not just because of Stern. How would you like to hear good music commercial free, not just what sells with 15 minuted of commercials every hour.

[Sterlingdog]

The start of the article says he attracted only 1 million subscribers, when its more like over 3 million.  And people are still having trouble buying the radios and getting them activated.

Other than that, what did they think people would do?  If they don't switch to satellite, they are going to look for something to listen to, not just give up the radio.

And I agree, Sirius is worth the price.  I've had mine well over a year and I can't stand listening to regular radio anymore.

[Lord Kayoss]

I can't stand radio, period.

I have a nice system in my car and a stereo that plays data discs.? I just compile CD's of 70-80 songs and hit the road.? Got my Ozzy mix kickin' in there right now.  All the good stuff from Sabbath and Blizzard of Ozz to Down To Earth.

[SLCPUNK]

I can't stand radio, period.

Me neither......it's garbage.

[Jim]

Maybe over there, but in England we have some great DJ's (again, I use the term DJ in it's loosest sense.......). Chris Moyles is a god!

[Sterlingdog]

Well one of the big problems here (aside from the extensive commercials) is that most stations have very limited playlists.  So if you listen for an hour, you've heard every song they will play all day long.  It gets old fast, at least for me. 

And I can't remember the last time I heard a good DJ on regular radio.  Especially with censorship being out of control the way it is right now, they are pretty limited on what they can say.