Howard Stern is taking his morning radio show into space. The maverick broadcaster will abandon terrestrial airwaves in 2006, when he’ll begin a five-year deal with Sirius Satellite.
“It has been my dream to have the top-rated show in radio since I was five years old,” Stern says in a statement. “Sirius — the future of radio — will take this dream to a whole new level as I bring my fans my show my way. It will be the best radio they will ever hear.”
After months of surprisingly clandestine negotiations, the self-proclaimed “King of All Media” broke the news to his listeners and co-workers during this morning’s broadcast. Stern has 15 months remaining on his contract with Viacom, syndicator of his morning radio show, which originates at WXRK (K-Rock) New York.
Stern’s radio show is also the basis of a nightly E! television series. He admitted on the air that he had no idea what would become of that show, noting that there is a year remaining on his contract with the network.
“Howard is an incredible creative and comedic icon,” says Scott Greenstein, Sirius president of entertainment and sports. “There is absolutely no one like Howard Stern, and I’m excited that, for the first time, his show will be heard across the entire country as it was always meant to be heard.”
Sirius provides 120 channels of commercial free programming, including music, sports and entertainment, for a monthly subscription of $12.95. Mobile and home receivers are manufactured by a number of top electronics companies.
Source billboard.com.
