Howard Stern helped make Sirius Radio the hit it is today. The radio show host brought his fame and following to the platform, which allowed him to speak more freely and candidly than ever before. At Sirius Radio, Stern has become one of the most entertaining interviewers around, but will he return to Sirius once his contract is up at the end of the year?
Will He Return?
There’s been a lot of talk over whether the iconic radio show host will return to Sirius once his fat contract expires. SiriusXM CEO, Jim Meyer, said he’s having conversations with Stern’s camp. As Meyer explained, he’s confident a renewal will happen:
“I am personally deeply engaged in conversations with Howard’s team. I am very optimistic about those conversations. We continue to make progress. We have had Howard for 15 years and I am sure that every penny we paid Howard our shareholders have benefited. And I have been really clear, I want Howard Stern to work at SiriusXM as long as Howard Stern wants to work.”
Stern Says Farewell?
Stern’s contract is up in December. He’s talked about in the past leaving radio behind and moving on. Stern once told his co-host, Robin Quivers, he wants out of radio:
“When I get out of radio. I’m getting out man. I’m pretty sure I’m almost out the door. I’m getting out anyway because I realize that radio is affecting my health. When I’m home on the weekends I’m fine. And then when I come here all kinds of shit happens. I won’t get into all the details, but I get all fucking anxious, and medical issues “I’m getting out. No really, I’m done. Two years and I’m out of here.”
Soon after Stern’s quote about retiring spread across the internet, he clarified he talks about retiring all the time. Don’t take him seriously, he said. It’s something that’s occasionally on the 66-year-old’s mind, understandably.
Stern is Still Happy, Though
Stern enjoys his home at Sirius Radio. There’s nothing happening at the station that would push him away, he’s clarified. A couple of months ago, Stern said he hadn’t had serious conversations about renewing his contract, but he was open to the idea:
“I haven’t really sat down seriously with Sirius XM and figured out what we might do in the future, but I do really love the people that work here and I do love the company. I’m open to some kind of idea. I have some thoughts about what we might do,”
Stern has gone through this back-and-forth process before. Back in 2015, he teased retirement before renewing his contract for five years. Maybe it was a negotiating tactic, or as Stern explained, he simply goes back and forth in his mind over retiring.
Howard’s Sirius Deal
When Howard Stern joined the Sirius family, it was massive news and an even bigger coup for Sirius. Between 2011 to 2015, Stern was making a reported $80 million a year. Years later, he was making $90 million a year. Some reports go as high as $95 million. Throughout the years Stern has been one of, if not the, highest-paid radio show hosts. Throughout the years at Sirius, Stern has continued to evolve. He’s especially grown as an interviewer. He’s maintained his signature sense of humor, although it’s not as mean-spirited and in-your-face as it once was (which is good).
The more Stern grows as a person and radio show host, the better he becomes as an interviewer. Sure, he interrupts and fawns a lot over his guests, but being Howard Stern, he gets high-profile guests to open up, for better or worse, and have a great time. Since Stern is a celebrity himself, he connects with celebs unlike any other interviewer. It’d be a shame if 2020 was his last year on Sirius, so here’s hoping for more years of Howard Stern on Sirius Radio.
