What's the deal with Howard Stern and Sirius?

[BushOut06]

I heard on the radio that Sirius is considering censoring Howard Stern, and that he's pretty friggin pissed about it. I find this pretty hard to believe, after all Sirius just shelled out $500 million to lure Howard over to satellite. Why would they turn around and muzzle him? What the fuck did they honestly expect when Howard was free from FCC regulations?

[thefloyd]

1. Stern will raise more hell than Sirius could ever imagine

Sounds like Sirius decided big salary would shut stern up. Sirius made the wrong
decision.

[DaveinMD]

2. or maybe

its a publicity ploy.

[thefloyd]

7. Very true

never thought about the publicity stunt. Would make way more sense
financially for Sirius

[Zinfandel]

9. Must be, You ever listen to Lynn Samuels, on Sirius Left Its "motherfucker

Bush" this, "cocksucking, asshole Bush" that...and on and on...

I sure have no problem with it...

I'm sure Sirius would have no problem with Stern using the same words.

However, a "publicity ploy"? Censoring someone would have the opposite effect, keep people from tuning in, if they were not getting what they are paying for.

[DaveinMD]

10. she talks just like my family does

They still live in NY. The cursing combined with the accent is too much :-)

[unblock]

4. sirius has already made gazillions of off stern. it was the right decision

cynical little me thinks that howard thrives on a bit of antagonism with management, and that sirius knows this, and are providing him with enough to get him a bit riled up. he gets some great material out of this sort of thing, and sirius can laugh all the way to the bank.

[Justsayin]

5. Fake Drama

Creative marketing?

[meisje]

3. publicity 101

[madeline_con]

6. It gives him a new line besides, "Show me your #i#s." n/t

[dogman]

8. He denied this on today's show.

He brought Cavuto in from Fox and read him the riot act for poor journalism and said maybe that's typical of Fox.

[soothsayer]

15. giving cavuto more hell today for not disclosing XM relationship

Siriusly, don't worry about our man howard. He's unfettered.

[Ikonoklast]

11. Yesterdays New York Post (Rupert Murdoch rag)

Had a story on the front page about Sirius preparing an inside memo for its' employees and talent about "limits" as to what was said on the air. Just Murdoch floating it out there to make sure people remember how evil Stern is. What a joke.

Fox then picked it up (Murdoch propaganda again) and was squawking about it; Cavuto had a show segment about it.

Funny how right-wing Murdoch is carrying water for censorship of everyone but him. Clear Channel and Viacom are both pouring huge money into Sen. Stevens (R. Senile-Alaska) because he is trying to get both cable and satellite radio censored. Funny how terrestrial radio is all for censorship of satellite now that Howard took their listeners and their ad revenue went to hell. (BTW, short Clear Channel. Profits are gonna tank next quarter.)

Hand-picked asshats like Gestapo Agent Brent Bozell, another book-burner with a constituency of about twelve, gets to testify before a Senate sub-committee on decency, but anyone with a contrary opinion was shut out. Howard Stern is like the boogeyman to these guys. A little sniff of anti-Semitism doesn't hurt, either.

Free speech is dead. The Republican Party murdered it.

[k_jerome]

12. what are they going to censor? his whining?

his new show is horrible. sirius stock goes down. xm goes up. barrons says buy xm. a half a billion dollar mistake.

[MannyGoldstein]

13. Howard's Not Funny When He's Out Of Control

Back in the early 80s I started listening to Howard on WNBC in NYC. He was hysterical back then, not the same old stripper/pornstress/implantee everyday like now.

In any case, Robin was out one week, and Jackie Martling subbed for her as "Ophelia Quivers". They were totally out of control. It was an awful spectacle, not funny at all. Just unlistenable dreck (sp?).

Now I haven't listened to Howard in a while, and I ain't payin' for Sirius - but I'd guess that he might just be turning viewers off if he's not being pulled back a bit. Just a hunch.

[Lex]

14. Maybe it's all just to stir up publicity for Sirius and Stern?

Fake a controversy to drum up people wondering what Stern is saying that is so outrageous that Sirius is upset?

Maybe pick up some more Sirius subscribers that way.

[Marnieworld]

16. It's a bullshit story

It's just not true. I listen to Howard daily. It is not censored at all. Sirius has no intent to censor him. The story has no basis in truth. Howard has the show on a 6 second delay by his choice and any edits are done by Howard and Howard alone.

This will not change. This is a rumor started by people with an ulterior motive. Ignore it.