From The Los Angeles Times:
Howard Stern loses listeners -- and influence -- on satellite radio
His move left him with a fraction of his previous audience and,
correspondingly, fewer top celebrities appear on his show.
By Greg Braxton
October 13, 2008
Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed King of All Media, has lost his
crown.
The shock jock's syndicated morning radio show once drew a national
audience of 12 million, but since jumping to satellite radio three
years ago, his listeners have dwindled to a fraction of that. Where
once Stern routinely commanded a parade of Hollywood's hottest stars --
George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Julia Roberts -- today publicists are left
to tout studio appearances by the likes of Chevy Chase, Joan Rivers or
Hulk Hogan.
Stern, weary of fighting the Federal Communications Commission over
hefty fines and charges of indecency on his terrestrial show, wanted
creative independence on the unregulated airwaves of satellite. He got
it -- and a lucrative five-year contract worth hundreds of million of
dollars.
But for a 54-year-old man who once likened his youthful craving for
media attention to a heroin addiction, the move may have come with
unintended consequences. Along with the loss of a massive daily radio
audience, Stern has also watched as his past triumphs of a hit movie,
bestselling books and huge pay-per-view television specials recede into
memory.
So far, the radio personality's leap from traditional media to a niche
platform has come at a heavy price -- namely, cultural relevancy.
Unlike an Arianna Huffington, who vastly increased her reach on her
upstart website, Stern's place in the national conversation has been
reduced to a murmur in the din of the exploding entertainment universe.
"It's like Howard went from playing Madison Avenue to playing an
upscale off-Broadway concert hall for a lot of money," said Tom Taylor,
executive news editor at Radio-Info.com, which tracks the radio
industry. "He made a Faustian bargain. He got everything he wanted in
terms of money and not being bothered by the FCC, but he lost the bulk
of his audience."
Even recent occurrences that only a few years ago might have driven a
torrent of frenzied attention gave Stern only a momentary blip. Thanks
to the Sirius-XM merger, Stern's potential satellite audience
significantly broadened last week when his morning show became
available to XM subscribers for the first time. And earlier this month,
Stern got married for the second time, to model Beth Ostrosky.
Stern, who rarely gives interviews, and his representatives declined to
comment for this article. But Sirius officials note that with their
company's merger, the radio host will now be able to reach a
"potential" audience of 19 million subscribers, though they would not
provide exact audience numbers. (XM subscribers must pay about $4 extra
per month to hear Stern.)
Radio analysts, however, estimated the actual size of Stern's daily
satellite audience to be between 1 million and 2 million. (Sirius
executives call those figures low because established rating services
do not measure satellite radio use in each market.)
Stern's program today is much like it was. It has retained its ribald
spirit and irreverent nature, and despite the enhanced autonomy, the
language is only a bit more coarse and the ***ual discussions slightly
more explicit.
As before, the radio host and his carnival of misfit contributors riff
for hours on the day's topics, which can vary from Stern's ***ual
appetites to sidekick Artie Lange's boorish and often out-of-control
behavior. Stern's longtime radio companion Robin Quivers still delivers
daily news re****ts, mostly about celebrities, while offbeat segments
such as quizzing **** stars on current events or tickling strippers
might also be featured.
"The show has a lot of sameness, though he definitely has a lot more
freedom now," Taylor said. "There's a sense talking to the people who
know him that he is aware that he's isolated. But he knew this would
happen."
With a reduced audience, Stern's show is no longer a prime stop on the
major film promotion circuit. And the A-list guests who used to submit
to Stern's biting personal questions in order to hype their projects
have become scarce.
Lately, his guests have been mostly fading stars, cable TV
personalities and loyal friends. His summer guest list included Brad
Garrett of the struggling Fox comedy " 'Til Death," Joan Rivers, Hulk
Hogan, Piers Morgan ("America's Got Talent") and Ernest Borgnine. And
only two stars of summer movies -- Seth Rogen of "Pineapple Express"
and Verne Troyer of "The Love Guru" -- dropped by his New York City
studios.
It's a far cry from previous years, when from the bully pulpit of his
radio show, Stern anointed himself as "The King of All Media." Though
the boast was vintage Stern and an obvious exaggeration, it was still
something few could contradict. He made headlines, not to mention
millions of dollars, off his bestselling books, "Miss America" and
"Private Parts." "Private Parts" was adapted for the big screen, where
it was a box office and critical success.
In leaving terrestrial radio, Stern also left behind an invaluable and
reliable tool for self-promotion: the FCC. Over the years, the
government agency hit Stern with millions of dollars in fines,
generating loads of free publicity.
Without the bureaucratic foil, few of Stern's escapades generate much
heat outside his specific universe.
"He's not in the news anymore, and controversies that made the news
definitely helped his visibility," said Michael Harrison, editor of the
talk radio trade publication Talkers. "Sometimes people equate news
buzz with success."
Stern's departure didn't just cut into his cultural currency, it also
hurt CBS Corp.'s bottom line.
Radio revenue for the company, which used to syndicate Stern's program
to 45 major and medium markets, dropped by 10% or more in the years
since Stern left. Some of the decline is due to economic conditions and
increased competition, but radio analysts attribute much of the loss to
Stern's absence.
Despite his diminished influence, several industry analysts warned
against selling the shock jock short.
"Howard was very brave to go into a relatively new media that's still
evolving," said media analyst Jeff Pollack. "It's the wave of the
future, where people will find their favorite talent in a
subscriber-based context."
Tom Leykis, a popular syndicated talk-radio host based in Los Angeles,
maintained that Stern's historical influence outweighs his heavy drop
on the buzz meter.
"I don't think you can count out Howard Stern," said Leykis, who is
heard locally on KLSX-FM (97.1). "He took radio, which was akin to the
used-car business, and made it a vital part of the entertainment
business. Even if he does have a smaller audience in terms of his
***ulative audience, that won't last forever. Terrestrial radio is
hemorrhaging audience as it tries to find its place in the Digital Age,
while satellite is up tremendously. Stern has defied the experts every
time."
Since Stern's departure from terrestrial radio, rumors have
periodically circulated that the shock jock will return to his
terrestrial radio roots. Stern has dismissed the talk, but his current
contract expires in 2010. What then? What if he returned to FM?
"Stations would be lining up to get him," said Harrison. "He grabbed
the brass ring and is now on sabbatical from a lot of stuff that had
nothing to do with his life. But if he ever wanted to return, there'd
be nothing but open arms."
Hulk Hogan ! lol
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