Major Piece on Sirius (with Howard) in Sunday NY Times

[Neigh]

Big article on Sirius in the Business Section of the Sunday New York Times. Howard is going to freak... not at the contents of the article but at the big cartoon of him on the front page of the Business Section.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/business/media/28radio.html?_r=1&ref=business

Actually he may freak at something else... The article includes that Jay Leno quote about Howard passing out of view.

 

[Jgatie]

Yep, another 3 page article in a major newspaper about how irrelevant Howard Stern has become. Same old shit.

 

[ProperModulation]

the author doesn't listen to the show, but he does read Marksfriggin.com? Apparently SOMEONE in his life listens to the show and told him about the retirement conversation that took place on the air. And how much do you want to bet that he got the Leno quote from marksfriggin and not the place where it aired on TV?

 

[k9feces]

Yep, another 3 page article in a major newspaper about how irrelevant Howard Stern has become. Same old shit.

Did you read the article? Only Mel Karmazin said Howard was irrelevant.

 

[JoeTan]

Now watch how no one reacts to this cause no one reads the newspaper anymore.

 

[Grüpsaar]

news....Paper?...Sounds strange...



Interesting article, only because Mel seems to insist Howard is happy and will work for less after 2010.

 

[Ifandorbut]

Yep, another 3 page article in a major newspaper about how irrelevant Howard Stern has become. Same old shit.

The article wasn't about how irrelevant Howard has become, the article dealt more with Mel's struggles in making his fledgling company stay afloat by getting low interest financing from lenders in a very bad economy.

There were only a few mentions in the article concerning Howard's declining fan base. Consider Howard's mentions as a primer to the coat of paint of Mel's struggles that truly color the article.

 

[tsave31]

You know...I'm a fairly new Howard listener...I just started listening regularly in May, so I don't know much on the history of Howard. But after listening to the first week of the History of Howard, I can safely say Howard is not nearly as motivated to be successful now as he was back then. There is absolutely no comparison. Whether it's age or counseling that has calmed him, I dunno, but I don't see the motivation. He is still a great listen, though.

 

[Die_LaMattres]

The only thing missing from the article's picture is a tin cup for money in front and bottles of snake oil just off to the side. Of course the snake oil will be diluted with Beck's beer so Howard can reap a few more marbles from each sale.

Poor Mel.....The aritcle says all of his money is invested in T-Bills and Sirius/XM stock. At least the bills are of value...for now. LOL The article all but calls him a failure for losing billions of dollars in a monopolized industry.

It was also interesting that one reason given for the downslide of satellite is the failing auto industry. That's a crock because if anyone here has purchased a new vehicle lately, satellite is given to you on a trial level. They were counting those handouts as subscriptions? That's almost misleading

 

[Forevernever]

Now watch how no one reacts to this cause no one reads the newspaper anymore.

Do they read the internet? Because that's where this article came from - the Time's internet site.

Yep, another 3 page article in a major newspaper about how irrelevant Howard Stern has become. Same old shit.

Your premise doesn't make sense. Just because an article mentions Howard as being irrelevant doesn't mean he's not irrelevant. It could mean that people are fascinated by the fact that someone who was once the biggest name in radio is now barely a blip in the business, and that the company he works for will in all likelihood go into receivership in the next 6-8 months despite his exclusive contract with it. That IS an interesting story, and it does not necessitate some conspiratorial effort to fabricate a false reality.

This article should help settle the argument about Howard's fire. A decade ago, a home-town article that featured an unflattering picture of Howard begging on the street (he has a hole in his shoe!) would have unleashed hell on the reporter and the paper. If he still cares, we can expect the same. Should make for some great radio.

 

[Elwood]

That cartoon was funny, but if Howard doesn't come back with a flamethrower, he is a pussy.

Unfortunately this article, which probably started out as a Mel/satrad piece was stuffed with too much opinion for the Business section.

When a newspaper article appears out of the blue - unrelated to specific current events - it is often the work of a PR firm hired to get the subject in print. If this is the work of Mel's PR agency, he should fire them.

 

[Kryptonite]

I must be the only one who doesn't buy that "irrelevant" line.

When you have someone of his notorioty, you're bound to have lots of "listeners." Some of them are the diehards, who wake up at 5:30 AM, and follow the various listening threads. After the show, they go to MarksFriggin and re-read the whole thing. They'll do Google news searches about Howard and find even more. They'll go to the comedy shows, buy the various books, movies, and other promoted products.

This core group is who followed Howard to Sirius and was there on the first day. These guys probably even had Sirius long before 1/9/06 and listened to the various specials.


Your second group is the occasional fan. If Howard is on, they'll listen. If not, it's no big deal. If they miss something, they'll hope it gets repeated on Best Of.

These guys MIGHT have gone to Sirius for the first day, or they might have gone later. They may still be back at FM radio, or maybe they have iPods.


The third group is made up of the watchdogs. These people listen to the show with the sole intent of complaining to the FCC. If Howard mentions "his nether regions" itching, they'll complain since it's "corrupting the kids." If Howard says "passing wind" with those same exact words, they'll complain.

These guys don't care where he is now. Sirius? What's that?


I don't think Howard is "irrelevant" now, but he just trimmed the fat from the ratings. Asking your fanbase to pay for something which once was free is a good way to seperate the diehards from everyone else.


If there's a baseball team that's averaging 35,000 fans per game with $5 tickets, that looks pretty good, right? Now raise ticket prices to $35 a game and you'll probably lose some of those fans. Play the game in November with $35 tickets instead of June, and you'll probably lose more fans, seperating the diehards from the casuals. Would this baseball team be "irrelevant" because they are now averaging fewer fans per game?

In essence, Howard did exactly the same thing. You can't honestly believe that ALL of his ratings came from the diehards, can you? He took his product and asked the listeners to pay for it. Not all of them came along, and really, who expected them to?

 

[jamesp717]

Hey Now

Not all of them came along, and really, who expected them to?

Howard

 

[almaniac27]

Howard is definitely still relevant, or else why would the Times use him as a hook to lure readers into an article about all the troubles Sirius XM faces? He isn't as relevant as he used to be, but it's not all satellite's fault. Comparing 2008 Howard with 1988 Howard, I think he's definitely lost some of his fire (or fiyaaaaaaah!). Part of the problem with him being on satellite is that he doesn't have as many people to rail against. No more Zookeepers or Greaseman to make fun of. He can't even make fun of Opie & Anthony anymore now that they're all in the same boat. Of course, in the latter period of FM, he didn't have many people to rail against either because he ran them all out of town. I think satellite is just Howard's opportunity to experience doing radio without restrictions and do all the things that he couldn't do before. When he's done with that, he'll probably go off happily into retirement. I secretly and selfishly hope that he'll return to regular radio as its savior. Terrestrial radio is dying quickly and in my opinion Howard is the only guy who can save it. Howard may say he's not interested in returning to regular radio, but think of the ego boost and all the bragging he can do if he comes back and makes testicular radio fun, viable, and dare I say relevant again?

 

[Neigh]

I recognize that there was a harder working Howard in the past (why doesn't he go to award shows with his megaphone any more or take another kind of road trip?). But overall I prefer the new Howard and I think it's mainly because of Artie. They bullshit about things that interest and concern listeners and they are both very smart and funny guys although pretty ignorant in certain areas...as most people are. There is no going back to the old Howard with his skits (and the ever present lisping homo), the wackpackers (the staff provides that now) or the breast examinations (his heart is not in it and you-know-who will find out) or even the Richard Simmons ridicule sessions. There is no going back to censored radio with 18 minutes of commercials every hour. Could he possibly continue as usual on Sirius but permit a censored simulcast (with delay) on commercial radio? It might be choppy as hell but a chopped up Howard is better than no Howard and it might actually help Sirius get subscribers and a wider audience would get him more A List guests.

 

[robhurlburt]

I Could he possibly continue as usual on Sirius but permit a censored simulcast (with delay) on commercial radio? It might be choppy as hell but a chopped up Howard is better than no Howard and it might actually help Sirius get subscribers and a wider audience would get him more A List guests.

If you can get Howard on FM for free, why pay for sirius? I would cancel my sub if howard was on FM

 

[Neigh]

If you can get Howard on FM for free, why pay for sirius? I would cancel my sub if howard was on FM

Hmmm. I wouldn't because of the bleeping and the commercials but I suppose most people would.. What if Sirius shared the ad revenue from FM?

 

[Jgatie]

Even if they don't air commercials on the Sirius side, the Sirius listeners are still stuck with filler for the 22+ minutes an hour FM foists on its listeners. Also, besides bleeping curse words, there are whole topics that would be off limits simply because to air the topics would require too much bleeping.

CBS/XM tried this FM/Sat "partnership" with O&A and it was a dismal failure on both sides. It was never shown to drive XM subs (matter of fact, their sales decreased) and their FM show was/is a disaster. Now we all know O&A aren't Howard, but I still see no gains for Sirius from Howard being on FM.

People simply will not pay for something they can get for free (just look at how many here at DRC give a "wink wink" about "aquiring" the show in ways that do not involve a sub - aka stealing it) and it would be us loyal Sirius listeners who would be getting kicked in the teeth with censored content and increased dead air to allow for FM type breaks.

 

[Ifandorbut]

CBS/XM tried this FM/Sat "partnership" with O&A and it was a dismal failure on both sides. It was never shown to drive XM subs (matter of fact, their sales decreased) and their FM show was/is a disaster. Now we all know O&A aren't Howard, but I still see no gains for Sirius from Howard being on FM.

Is this not a fair description of the Bubba the Love Sponge Show(s)?

Didn't Howard say that Bubba would be helping to move subs on his terrestrial radio show?

 

[Jgatie]

Is this not a fair description of the Bubba the Love Sponge Show(s)?

Didn't Howard say that Bubba would be helping to move subs on his terrestrial radio show?

Bubba's show is completely different. He does 2 different shows, one of which is in limited FM markets. The proposed Howard FM/Sat venture would be a simulcast and the FM side would more than likely not be in limited markets. Given Howard's name and the desperation of FM, I would guess he'd be given at least as many markets as he performed well in before.

Edit: See the thing about Bubba vs. O&A, Bubba didn't forsake his sat listeners in order to cash in on FM. No matter how careful you are, the FM side is going to want to censor content and add commercials. This is what was predicted would happen to O&A, and it is exactly what happened. FM sensitivity overtook all decisions, and the non-Kool-aid drinking XM fans realized they were getting screwed.

I said before that if Howard ever went to a simulcast FM/Sat show, I'd cancel because those paying for the Sat side would be getting the shaft. I feel that way even more strongly after seeing O&A fans get the shaft on XM.