State of the Bubba - October 30, 2008

I wonder if the have run out of money for the Howard channels. I know all the little dinky shows get paid squat. I think it just bugs me that they gave Chris Russo all that money and he doesn't bring in subscribers. I again apologize for people that like him. I'm not in anyway saying he's not talented or good for the channels. All I'm saying is they overpaid for the guy and again he hasn't brought in any subscribers. It just looks like Bubba probably won't be here next year. If thats the case I'll just cancel my 3 other radios. I can't cancel the lifetimed one. Its just frustrating.
 
Ehilbert1 said:
I wonder if the have run out of money for the Howard channels. I know all the little dinky shows get paid squat. I think it just bugs me that they gave Chris Russo all that money and he doesn't bring in subscribers. I again apologize for people that like him. I'm not in anyway saying he's not talented or good for the channels. All I'm saying is they overpaid for the guy and again he hasn't brought in any subscribers. It just looks like Bubba probably won't be here next year. If thats the case I'll just cancel my 3 other radios. I can't cancel the lifetimed one. Its just frustrating.
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I don't know how you could prove or disprove that Chris brings, loses or keeps subscribers. As far as I can tell there's no evidence that would help to point you to this conclusion. You're just letting your dislike for him color how you feel about his contract with satellite radio.

The people that work on the "little dinky shows" on Howard 101 were getting paid very little, or not at all, two and half years before Chris broadcast his first show on satellite. I don't see how you could make the comparison at all in this regard.

If Sirius deems Bubba worth the money, they will pay him. If they don't or can't come to an agreement, you'll have to get your Bubba fix through the podcasts or through torrent downloads. It's not the end of the world. I wouldn't worry about anything at any rate, I think the Bubba drama is a bit of show made to get the fans excited.

Don't consider yourself frustrated, consider yourself excited.
 
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I gotta agree with you there Ifandorbut. I think Bubba does over dramatize some times. But I'm don't think money is the only sticking point. I think he would like to do his Sirius show earlier everyday like he does on Fridays.
 
The contract with Mad Dog is that he was signed to be on both basic platforms (XM/Sirius). He has a borader appeal than Bubba as does most mainstream talent. The $3 mil per year is to be on both platforms. Based on that the money does not seem to be too much.

Bubba on the other hand is semi-controversial and would not be viewed by management to have a boar appeal. Yes, his fans are rabid and a fairly large sample. But I am sure that the suits will always sweat whether he will push the envelope and cost some sponsors.

I really think that what we are seeing in the past two negotiations with Bubba is the Stern effect. Stern's huge contract, while bringing a lot of subscribers initially does not draw new subs today. Based on that they have to be tight with the remaining talent contracts.

I am sure the O&A discussions and subsequent contract was not as great as O&A would have liked as well.
 
Ifandorbut said:
I don't know how you could prove or disprove that Chris brings, loses or keeps subscribers. As far as I can tell there's no evidence that would help to point you to this conclusion. You're just letting your dislike for him color how you feel about his contract with satellite radio.

The people that work on the "little dinky shows" on Howard 101 were getting paid very little, or not at all, two and half years before Chris broadcast his first show on satellite. I don't see how you could make the comparison at all in this regard.

If Sirius deems Bubba worth the money, they will pay him. If they don't or can't come to an agreement, you'll have to get your Bubba fix through the podcasts or through torrent downloads. It's not the end of the world. I wouldn't worry about anything at any rate, I think the Bubba drama is a bit of show made to get the fans excited.

Don't consider yourself frustrated, consider yourself excited.
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I don't dislike him at all. I base wheather he's brought in subscribers or not on the subscriber count. Since he signed it hasn't jumped up at all. It just made me mad as a stock holder that he was paid that much. I wasn't trying to compare his contract with any of the little shows on 101. I was just making a point that those shows get paid very little. I'm going to just shut up now and hope that Bubba gets signed.
 
Blitz71 said:
I gotta agree with you there Ifandorbut. I think Bubba does over dramatize some times. But I'm don't think money is the only sticking point. I think he would like to do his Sirius show earlier everyday like he does on Fridays.
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Exactly. He's told people that's the only way he's coming back. And there is also the matter of expanding the morning show.
 
SPeeDy said:
Bubba on the other hand is semi-controversial and would not be viewed by management to have a boar appeal. Yes, his fans are rabid and a fairly large sample. But I am sure that the suits will always sweat whether he will push the envelope and cost some sponsors.
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I don't think that's an issue. His morning show is killing in the ratings for the 2 markets he's in. With the sad state of affairs in testicle-less radio, I bet they're chomping at the bit to get him where they can expand his syndication. Sirius is stupid if they let him go.

I wonder who brings in more subs - Martha, Oprah or Mad Dog?
 
TheScionicMan said:
I don't think that's an issue. His morning show is killing in the ratings for the 2 markets he's in. With the sad state of affairs in testicle-less radio, I bet they're chomping at the bit to get him where they can expand his syndication. Sirius is stupid if they let him go.

I wonder who brings in more subs - Martha, Oprah or Mad Dog?
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No one brings in subs at this point, the only new subs are new cars with free subscriptions.
 
TheScionicMan said:
I don't think that's an issue. His morning show is killing in the ratings for the 2 markets he's in. With the sad state of affairs in testicle-less radio, I bet they're chomping at the bit to get him where they can expand his syndication. Sirius is stupid if they let him go.

I wonder who brings in more subs - Martha, Oprah or Mad Dog?
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I'm not sure it matters who brings in more subs at this point, satellite radio has put it eggs into Howard's nest. Somehow or another Sirius felt that Chris deserved a three year deal worthy of 3 million dollars. It is possible that Chris Russo will be broadcasting new shows on satellite after Howard has stopped doing any live shows for satellite. It is also possible that both Martha Stewart and Oprah will no longer have a presence on satellite once their contracts run out.

If satellite wants their services they will pay them, if not, they won't. The only people that know anything close to why people joined up or what they listen to are the same people that decide who gets paid at the end of the day and who will continue to have a presence on satellite.

My guess is that they will beg and plead for Howard to stay, but not with anything resembling close to the current type of contract. Maybe without Howard there would only be five million people interested in satellite radio, but without his contract weighing them down, perhaps that would be sufficient enough to keep satellite alive. Perhaps Howard had fulfilled his obligations to making satellite more of a household name, perhaps that is his legacy.

I don't buy into the idea that he saved satellite...he only saved Sirius Satellite Radio. There were millions of subscribers to satellite radio before Howard made his inevitable move to Sirius, they were at XM Satellite Radio. Perhaps Bubba's big pay day will come in two years when Howard finally makes good on his running joke about wanting to get out of radio. Perhaps then and only then will it be possible for others to join the satellite fold and fill the gap again that will exist when he leaves.
 
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