SiriusXM to Give Howard Stern Extended Contract Worth Up To $120 Million Per Year

The “King of All Media,” Howard Stern, will continue to call the satellite radio giant SiriusXM his home, extending by five years his long-running contract with the organization for his flagship program.

For seven additional years, the contract, unveiled on Tuesday, also includes the Stern archive. Financial terms were not revealed.

Stern, 66, is currently working on a five-year contract with Sirius that expires at the end of this year and is expected to be worth as much as $100 million a year with possibilities of being up to $120 million per year.

The news was first reported by Stern during his show Tuesday morning. “Fifteen years ago, I joined SiriusXM, a fledgling group of broadcasters. I had been in a toxic relationship with terrestrial radio,” he said. “And no matter how well I treated the medium, no matter how successful I made them, they abused me. Going to SiriusXM liberated me. I felt like Tina Turner freeing myself from Ike.”

He added: “And despite the naysayers and the ridicule, we have persevered, and are thriving. I’ve been proven right about satellite radio over and over again. With this contract renewal, I can’t wait to see what else I’ll be right about. Certainly, I have a lot more to say about Metamucil crackers and stepmom porn. Plus, now that I can work from home, I simply don’t have an excuse to quit.”

And the star said: “I would like to thank my incredible crew that I work with every morning and of course the talented Robin Quivers. Robin, we make a great team. Like Sonny and Cher, Captain and Tennille, Charles Manson and Squeaky Fromme, we continue our great friendship. I look forward to more laughs and good times. As a proud member of Bachelor Nation, I say…Robin, will you accept my rose and dare I say, should you forgo your individual room, will you join me in the fantasy suite?”

He also called SiriusXM “the greatest content provider in media today,” adding: “SiriusXM, I love you, and I’m thrilled to continue our journey together.”

At the end of the year, SiriusXM’s Jim Meyer will be leaving the post as CEO to focus on the vice-chairman role. In recent months, he has repeatedly said that a Stern deal renewal was a key focus for him, and he was hoping for news on that around the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Oct. 20.

Meyer said that he has been “really clear” that “I want Howard Stern to be on SiriusXM for as long as Howard wants to work,” lauding their “tremendous relationship” that has “never been better.”

In July, the executive said, “we’ll keep working, and we’ll get there, I hope. At the end of the day, it will come down to what Howard wants to do.” He also told a recent investor conference that the deals with Stern have made financial sense. “We have had Howard for 15 years, and I am sure that every penny we paid Howard our shareholders have benefited [from],” he said.

Given its increasing podcasting company, music streaming giant Spotify was seen as Stern’s key alternative. But in a recent article, B. Riley analyst Zack Silver highlighted that the fact that SiriusXM has rights to the back catalog of Stern through 2027 “helps lower the risk of Stern joining a rival service.”

He also wondered if Stern was “really still worth $100 million-plus a year?” Silver’s response: “Our recent survey work suggests that only a low-single-digit percentage of respondents subscribe to SiriusXM solely because of Howard Stern. That said, we do believe marquee exclusives like Stern help support SiriusXM’s premium price point, as well as differentiate the service from other subscription audio platforms. And for investors, we believe that a potential renewal with Stern serves as a proof point that SiriusXM can continue to retain and attract top talent to its service.”

In a recent report, Credit Suisse analyst Brian Russo estimated that 15 percent of Stern listeners would cancel their SiriusXM subscriptions if he left the company, “implying a potential subscriber loss of 2.7 million.”