King of All Media Howard Stern will have a lot more time on his hands now that he’s ditched his judging gig at America’s Got Talent. (Stern spent four years enlightening TV audiences about what it takes to make it in show biz.) The big question surrounding Stern now is where will he spend that time? Stern pretty much put satellite radio on the map, and his initial deal with Sirius eventually led to its gobbling up its sole rival, XM, to own the satellite platform by itself. But with Internet-based information delivery options expanding constantly, there has been some question about just how valuable that platform is.
One answer came this week, as SiriusXM raised its revenue target to $4.53 billion. Revenue soared 11% higher than the third quarter last year, hitting $1.17 billion. The company announced a record 29 million subscribers. SiriusXM is feeling good — and it’s in a position to make Stern happy, if happy is something Stern can be. Stern’s current five-year contract ends at the end of the year. It’s the big if hanging over SiriusXM. CEO Jim Meyer didn’t sound too worried. “The one question many of you ask me about frequently is Howard Stern, and whether he will be staying with the service in the coming years,” Meyer said. “We certainly hope so.” Then like the good promoter that he is, Meyer advised people to listen to Howard’s show for the answer. Makes sense: that’s where he announced it last time.
