Howard Stern announced this morning that he has extended his contract with SiriusXM for another three years.
The radio host revealed the news live on The Howard Stern Show. A company spokesperson confirmed the contract extension but did not provide any additional details. In 2020, Stern re-upped for five years in a deal reportedly worth between $450 million and $500 million.
Stern, 71, is a linchpin of SiriusXM. His original leap from terrestrial to satellite radio two decades ago created a template for big-ticket talent looking for a new creative sandbox. Earlier this year, Stern and fellow Sirius personality Andy Cohen made the joke announcement that Cohen would take over Stern’s show. Cohen already has a successful spot on the Sirius dial but the bit proved to be a wink at the “will-he-or-won’t-he” hype cycle about Stern’s contract.
Rumors were widely shared late last summer that the show had been “canceled.” The news was cheered by right-wing outlets given Stern’s outspoken opposition to President Trump.
“I do have an answer now finally about what’s going to happen,” Stern said Monday in a teaser for Tuesday’s contract reveal. “I’ll make an announcement about my future. Maybe the audience won’t tune in, but I know the staff will,” he quipped.
Stern’s unusual work schedule, which involves summers off and limited trips in to SiriusXM’s New York City studios, played a factor in the recently completed negotiations, the host said.
As the contract drama played out, SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz said last September at a BofA Securities conference that Stern has been “core” to the company’s programming for 20-plus years. Given that history, she said, “I’m confidence we’ll get to the right place.”
SiriusXM President Scott Greenstein said at the same conference that the company has been “pretty lucky all these years” with Stern and his show collaborators. “We’d love them to stay,” he said. “It certainly has to make sense, but we feel pretty good that we’ve done this before, and we’ll see where it goes.”
