Howard Stern Lashes Out at Some Fans

[nickel]

Friday, March 31, 2006
http://www.foxnews.com/images/service_ap_36.gif
NEW YORK — Howard Stern is angry more fans haven't followed him to satellite radio.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the 52-year-old shock jock lashes out at those of his fan base who haven't made the transition to Sirius Satellite Radio.

In January, Stern moved his popular and bawdy morning show to the subscription satellite radio provider.

"I was just at my psychiatrist and I said, 'I just got great news: We hit the 4 million mark. And I'm angry. It should be 20 million,'" Stern says in the magazine, on newsstands Monday.

"It's insulting to me that everyone hasn't come with me. I take it personally," he says.

"I want to say to my audience ... 'You haven't come with me yet? How dare you? We're up to wild, crazy stuff, the show has never sounded better. You cheap bastard!'"

In February, CBS Radio, formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting, filed a lawsuit against Stern for improperly using airtime to promote his new show on Sirius.

Stern has claimed the lawsuit is without merit.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,190102,00.html

[yo]

Hmm, makes me want Sirius and Howard NOW. I've never listened to him in the first place and I guess I never will :)

[johnnymk]

Spoiled brat in an old man's body.

[sizemic1]

I have Sirius and can honestly say, i've NEVER tuned into his program

[Agent Plissken]

I have sirius as well... I hope Howard doesnt get credit for my subscription... I dont listen to that idiot.

[Thesifer]

Ha. I think its hilarious. He just does it for the rise out of people.

[Houdini]

I have no idea how much Sirius costs, or if it's better/worse than XM, but calling people "cheap bastards" is kind of over the line. Even if you have a system, you may not have it in your car, which is where people used to listen to him the most, right? It's only recently that sat-radio is offered in cars.

[sizemic1]

I have no idea how much Sirius costs, or if it's better/worse than XM, but calling people "cheap bastards" is kind of over the line. Even if you have a system, you may not have it in your car, which is where people used to listen to him the most, right? It's only recently that sat-radio is offered in cars.

There's also sat home recievers

[Houdini]

There's also sat home recievers

True, and I know you can get FM modulators and stuff for your car, but I always thought Stern was a morning show meant for commuters, etc. So, w/o it in your car, you can't hear him.

I was waiting to find out which sat system would win before buying into any of them. XM, Sirius, etc...
Still waiting

[Cubsfan]

I was waiting to find out which sat system would win before buying into any of them. XM, Sirius, etc...
Still waiting

Actually, at this point the hardware is cheap enough to not be a big investment anymore. The RoadyXT is only $18 (AR) at Amazon. I'm guessing similar prices for the Sirius recievers.

[Freelance Superhero]

Actually, at this point the hardware is cheap enough to not be a big investment anymore. The RoadyXT is only $18 (AR) at Amazon. I'm guessing similar prices for the Sirius recievers.
i think moreso than the actual cost of installing a satellite radio setup in the car, it's about convenience. if most average consumers are like me, well... i'm not going out of my way to pay for radio and have new equipment installed on my car, regardless of how affordable it may be nowadays.

i think howard has to realize that his audience as a whole is a lot smaller. i mean, you gotta figure: access to broadcast radio = pretty much everybody; access to satellite radio = who knows, but i bet at this point, it's still a fraction of those who only listen to normal broadcast stations. considering all this, i'd say 4 million might even be pretty impressive numbers for a single satellite radio show... :shrug:

then again, i'm ignorant about the figures in these kinds of things, so i might just be talkin out my ass here...

[Cubsfan]

considering all this, i'd say 4 million might even be pretty impressive numbers for a single satellite radio show... :shrug:
Actually, it's about 4 million for Sirius, about 6 million for XM, so about 10 million total. However, not nearly every one of those 4 million is listening to Stern, so his actual audience is far, far smaller.

[MrGreg]

If the stock radio in my car had satellite radio functionality, I'd get a subscription, but I don't feel like replacing the head unit or getting add-on equipment... particularly with an FM modulator and external antenna.

[Freelance Superhero]

Actually, it's about 4 million for Sirius, about 6 million for XM, so about 10 million total. However, not nearly every one of those 4 million is listening to Stern, so his actual audience is far, far smaller.
ahh i see... when stern dropped the 4 mill number in the article above, i just assumed he was referring to people who tuned in to his show.

[sizemic1]

True, and I know you can get FM modulators and stuff for your car, but I always thought Stern was a morning show meant for commuters, etc. So, w/o it in your car, you can't hear him.

I was waiting to find out which sat system would win before buying into any of them. XM, Sirius, etc...
Still waiting

I hear ya. I think Stern primarily was a morning show guy. But with Sirius, they replay his stuff all day long, so you can pretty much listen whenever you want.

As far as which system will "win". Hard to say..but i've experienced both, and I personally like Sirius' programming better than XM's.

[MJordanash]

Spoiled brat in an old man's body.
:stupid: then again, I won't pay to listen to the radio either.

[Jeffbx]

I used to listen to him when he was on regular radio, but he's not compelling enough to make an investment into new equipment to listen again. Plus my commute is only about 20 minutes, and $10/mo for 20 minutes of entertainment on the way to work seems a little steep to me.

When my current lease is up at the end of the year, if my new car has Sirius I'll probably tune in again. Until then, I'll continue channel surfing.

[gwilks98]

Being that he just bought a boatload of sirius stock, I'd say he's just trying to boost sales.

Really, I don't like the man, but the media's fishing for something more here.