Mel Karmazin refused to give specifics on the contract negotiations with Howard Stern, but was uncharacteristically optimistic about renewing Sirius XM's content deal with the NFL.
"I believe we have a deal with the NFL," Karmazin told attendees at the Bank of America Media Conference. He then added that Sirius XM's lawyers are still finalizing the contract with the NFL and that there is no official announcement to be made yet.
But what about Howard Stern?
Of course that was a question posed to Karmazin, and he refused to give complete details on the ongoing process.
"I can only repeat what I've said about Howard," the Sirius XM Radio Inc. CEO said. Though Mel did say that he was "pretty confident" that the two parties will work out a deal.
Karmazin was sure to highlight that Sirius XM was able to renew the majority of their previous big-name contracts, such as Oprah, as a hint towards their future success.
"[Howard Stern] has enabled companies to make a lot of money," Karmazin said.
But how would it affect the company should Howard leave?
"They [subscribers] may have come for Howard, they may love Howard," said Karmazin. "...but they listen to other channels."
But what about Howard Stern?
Of course that was a question posed to Karmazin, and he refused to give complete details on the ongoing process.
"I can only repeat what I've said about Howard," the Sirius XM Radio Inc. CEO said. Though Mel did say that he was "pretty confident" that the two parties will work out a deal.
Karmazin was sure to highlight that Sirius XM was able to renew the majority of their previous big-name contracts, such as Oprah, as a hint towards their future success.
"[Howard Stern] has enabled companies to make a lot of money," Karmazin said.
But how would it affect the company should Howard leave?
"They [subscribers] may have come for Howard, they may love Howard," said Karmazin. "...but they listen to other channels."
Hey Mel,
How about getting Major League Baseball games for us Sirius listeners.
Does anybody knows how tall Howard is? he looks huge. (he needs to work out) ^.^
Howard is around 6'5".
I had satellite radio before Howard and I'll still have satellite radio after Howard. Being an original XM subscriber, I can't say if I'll keep the "Best of Sirius" after he's gone. I hope he stays in some capacity.
I think for most people if they came for Howard, they'll be leaving with him too. I came for O&A. Would have kept the service w/o them before the merger. Now I just want them to move on so I can cancel. I did listen to the other channels, but not since the new line-up. The music channels couldn't be worse. Bad commercial free FM. I'd rather listen to my iPod.
I agree with pfreak. If O&A leave the company I'm canceling both of my radios. I rather listen to my Ipod instead of the other channels, and the Stern show is a mere shell of it's former self.
True; I can't see too many people who came for Howard Stern being so drawn to the rest of the "merged" channel lineup that they can't bear to leave. For those that stay, the biggest reason will be inertia.
Also, Mel says Howard Stern has enabled companies to make a lot of money. Yes, but not anywhere near as much now as when he was on AM and FM radio, where his listenership was exponentially greater than it is now. He'd make more money for more people there, but there are downsides, of course, such as greater censorship.
Since the question of whether he stays or leaves Sirius XM comes down to how much money they think he's making for them, the handwriting should pretty much be on the wall one way or the other right now, and the cards just have to be played out. I think, in the end, the result will be some sort of blend of reduced compensation and other provisions, such as giving Stern freedom to market through other distribution channels.
To support what others have said, I have every intention of dropping my XM subscription if/when Opie & Anthony leave. I will keep it as long as they are on the platform, but if they choose to leave or get pushed out, satellite radio goes bye bye. I have an iPhone with plenty of other (better) music options.
I'm still very upset about the lack of MLB on Sirius.
Yes, in eliminating much of the diversity between Sirius and XM, the company created an expectation that all of the content should be shared between the two services. Trouble is, in the case of something like MLB, offering the content on both services would cost the company a lot of money, as it would double the number of people who have access to the broadcasts.
The MLB situation provides still more proof, as if more were needed, of the stupidity of merging the two services into one, eliminating choice and diversity, and "dumbing down" satellite radio.
like a lot of others, awaiting any news on the O&A contract renewal. If they are done, my 4 radios are gone. Like pfreak said, the music channels are god awful since the merger. FM has better music and thats horrible. why pay for horrible music if theres no O&A to listen to? hopefully Mel and the rest of Sirius/XM get their heads out of their asses and renew the boys soon or theyll lose an awful lot of subs.
Stern will re-sign. Not sure about O&A. And I'm guessing Bubba is gone, but he should stay too. The truth is, there is nowhere for any of these guys to go. The idea of Bubba going to an internet radio provider is laughable. It may keep some of his current listeners happy, but that hardly a way to grow listeners today.
Stern is a completely different scenario. I'm sure Sirius is offering less money, but Stern can't believe he could make more money somewhere else. The vast majority of his listeners still listen in the car, and the internet just isn't quite there yet to offer live radio in the car. He will re-sign. And he knows he will too.
I found it interesting that he stopped talking about the negotiations on the air- my guess is he got a ton of emails critical of his "feel sorry for me" arguments considering he makes 100 million a year. Cry me a river Howard! (But please re-sign).