Last week, TheWrap reported that Howard Stern was mulling a return to terrestrial radio when his five-year, $500 million deal with Sirius/XM expires at the end of the year.
There’s been some talk the last couple days about Stern’s FM options, with Clear Channel apparently expressing interest in bringing the King of All Media back to its airwaves.
This, despite a direct quote from Stern in my post last week: “I can’t ever imagine the day where I’d work for Clear Channel.”
I can’t imagine it either, considering that Clear Channel pulled Stern off the air in six markets near the end of his terrestrial tenure over “indecency” issues.
But the Los Angeles Times’ Joe Flint thinks it might be his only choice, given how badly Stern torched the bridges between himself and his former employer, CBS Radio, on his way to satellite.
Maybe, maybe not. There’s been some speculation he could wind up back on FM without having to leave satellite through a syndication deal, in which a “clean” version of his Sirius show is rebroadcast in the markets that want him back.
And, like Conan O’Brien, there’s always the call of the Internet.
Alas, as I’ve said before, this could all be just pure shock jock posturing in a contract year.
One thing seems pretty certain, though: no one is giving Howard Stern $500 million this time.
More to read:
Howard Stern to Return to Terrestrial Radio?
