Back on Wednesday, a poster on the SatwavesPro forum brought up the issue of Howard Stern and his contract negotiations. “HillBilly” as he known stated that would cancel his subscriptions and sell his stock if Sirius XM did not re-sign Howard Stern. I set off on a mission to show him exactly why it would make no difference if Howard Stern remained at Sirius XM or moved on. Unforunately for me, the facts indicated that would make a VERY BIG differenence if Stern leaves.
I wrote an article Wednesday night which outlined my findings, which included the high profitability of Stern’s show to Sirius XM among other things. By Thursday morning, a nameless blogger wanna-be decided to take an opposing view, and penned an article which read more like a poorly edited novel than any news story. Writing a story with supposed “facts” without the benefit of links, this blogger used the data that I provided in his rebuttle article without crediting me as his source. Ironically, he must be a subscriber to Satwavespro himself, under an alias in order to have read the article.
One thing we can agree on it seems, is that at a minimum, Stern’s show results in at least $200 million of profit to Sirius XM annually. The number is actually much higher, but for the sake of this peice we’ll use that as an assumption to further the points I will now make. ...
Simple if HS leaves the SP will take a dive to the .40 to .50 cent range and after it will recover…. but will it?
Then give the Diva his due….and be done with it already….why all the drama when we know the end of the story
Brandon, sorry that somebody has infiltrated the site to cherry pick your ideas…
I’m sure that whoever the clown may be, he or she will be unmasked eventually…
In the meantime, good luck, and thanks for continuing to provide quality coverage and original ideas!
“The Play is the Thing”
This is a quote of Mel and Shakespeare.
What use is Howard if he cannot make news and draw attention for SIRI.
You must remember that SIRI is in the entertainment business and our lead actor is just warming up, so, if you cannot stand the heat then maybe you should sell out now.
I hope Howard and Mel take this to every media and make it front page and not waste a good excuse for hype and free advertising.
Once the contract is signed they will be at each others throats and it will seem like the sky is falling(this will be acting and do not be afraid) but if the contract doesn’t get signed, silence may prevail and then you should be very very frightened.
In my oppinion Howard will sign.
I agree Brandon. Sirius XM needs Howard Stern for another five years. After that they will be profitable enough on their own that he won’t matter.
In fact, after that I think most of us would be content for Howard to switch to being a subscriber — like the rest of us.
Even 3 years would likely be enough. I want to be in for the news if he signs a deal that makes sense for Sirius, but I have to say that this stock is extremely risky if news breaks that he will not sign. I am in and out of the stock and don’t know what to do, but feel like we might be a golf ball sitting on a tee.
Let’s assume, in the end, this is a business decision for both sides, and egos will tend to stay out of this as discussions become finalized. Let’s also assume both parties are good businessmen – Mel and Howard – and both know the worth of what Howard brings to Sirius XM – without any undue emotional baggage. Let’s also assume Sirius XM is the best platform currently in existence for Howard to continue his show. Put all these ingredients together and you come to the conclusion that it is in both parties best interests to come to a FAIR and EQUITABLE arrangement by which Howard will remain with Sirius XM into the future. I have capitalized these words, because they are the key to an eventual contract. If either side is blinded by ego or an overblown sense of self worth, than Fair and Equitable go out the window, along with the probability of Howard remaining with Sirius XM. If discussions are based upon reality – assuming both men are superb businessmen and understand all the relative metrics – then probability favors Howard remaining with Sirius after this contract dance runs its course.
Don’t popular TV and radio shows eventually lose their appeal? I am an occasional listener of Howard. He’s smart and entertaining and a good interviewer. I am not one of the fans he brought to SIRIUS, so maybe I don’t understand his appeal. But I think they would do well without him. But I also agree, that at this point, they do not want to lose even 100,000 subs. Marque names and controversy help make the brand. We need an ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ on radio. If it’s the ‘music stupid’, why not? Maybe 2.0 will let us vote for our favorites.
This is just my opinion, I do think that they we re-sign Stern. I think that he could probably get 100 million a year and only work 3 days a week as well. In that case, it would be great to see a phone app just for the stern channels. XM subscribers, such as myself, have to pay extra to listen to Stern. Think about how much more money Sirius could make if they charge Sirius listeners an addional 2.99 a month if they wanted the Stern channels….