Assuming the FCC approves the Sirius and XM merger, both companies will need to take drastic steps to bolster their balance sheet, including cutting costs and refinancing massive debt. And Fortune writer Scott Moritz questions whether one of the areas to trim, would be Howard Stern contract."The question is, is there anyone out there who would pay him $700 million," asks Scott Cleland, a Washington-based analysts with Precursor. "Good luck."
Total programming costs, in total, came in at $475.4 million last year, or 23% of total revenue - the biggest single expense for the two companies. And Stern's contract - along with the NFL ($220 million for 7-years), NASCAR ($107.5 million for 5-years) and MLB ($650 million for 11-years) - are some of the biggest contributors.
Depending on the health of the combined company, Moritz figures that Stern may be in for a tough negotiation when renewal time comes up in 2010.
Cowen & Co. analyst Tom Watts thinks that's exactly what Sirius will do: wait until Stern's contract expires before seeking new terms. Watts says the more pressing issue is refinancing XM's $1.46 billion debt, a move he says could happen soon after the merger.
Sure, some significant belt-tightening is in order, but the real factor in negotiations isn't whether there's only one satellite radio player in town: it's who needs who more. So the question is: does Sirius-XM need Howard Stern, more than Howard Stern needs Sirius-XM?
[Fortune]
Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoo!!!! I invented radio, you need me!! Hoo Hoo, Right Robin!! Tell em Fred!! Hoo Hoo, They do need me, don't they Robin? Don't they?...........Hoo Hoo
Howard IS sat radio. 'Nuff said. Viva la revolution!
its a good question... sirius needed stern when they signed him... post merger, they need him 50% less.
all the other contracts need to be re negotiated too
NFL,NBA,NASCAR,MLB
They all need to be EXCLUSUVE Audio partners... As of now... they are exclusive Sat rad... meaning Internet Radio can pick them up... Cell phoens can ... pod casting too.
IMO for XM or sirius or the merged company to survive long term, they need to be audio providers.... of things not available any place else.
This is news?
Stern is smart enough to know that Sirius was forced to up the offer because of XM. Of course he is not going to get the same contract in 2010. He has spoken about that on the air.
Isnt this the reason the companies are saying they must merge than can no afford to keep competing for content? I just can not believe this is the indepth coverage forbes is doing. Pathetic.
From the article:
The combined company's market dominance, analysts say, will give it the necessary leverage to cut programming costs by as much as 30%.
Did he just say... "market dominance"???? Isn't that what groups that have been opposing the merger been claiming as one of the reasons to to deny the merger??
So just so that I get this straight. He believes that the "combined companies market dominance" will allow it to renegotiate content deals because the content providers (plural) no longer have a competitor in the same "market" to bargain against, and only have ONE Company to bargain with (singular)??? Folks... That is called MONOPOLY POWER.
And when/if the companies negotiate cost savings with their content providers. The company will of course pass this savings on to the consumer??? Of course not.. Even though these are the exact reasons the combined companies claim the synergies provided by the merger are in "the publics interest".
And if they fail to use their MARKET DOMINANCE to maintain the same content at lower prices and decide to delete that content from their line-up. The combined company will obviously LOWER the prices to the consumer??? Of course not.
That's right folks... Less content at the same price is a "PRICE INCREASE".
I suspect many of these contracts will only be renegotiable through the filing of a petition.
An event that will leave the entire "Shareholder Special Interests Groups" financially wiped out, while the singular company laughs their arses off and tells them.. Thanks for all the great Comments to the FCC suckers.
The Golden Age of Satellite Radio is reaching sunset. You should be proud of yourselves.
And so it goes,
PCSTEL
There is no question that Stern needs sat radio. There is NO WAY he would get even $100 million from regular radio. He will have been off the airwaves for almost 6 years by then. his audience will be nothing.
MLB, NFL, NBA...they do not NEED sat radio. Sat Radio needs them for content.
MLB does not even care about XM. They pimp their MLB TV service and you never see them drive people to XM. At least the NFL gets behind Sirius every so often.
He might not even resign. He has spoken about his tough negotiations with Mel, but make no mistake. Howard is the main satellite attraction and he put it on the map. Don't underestimate the free publicity he generates from the likes of Letterman and Conan. He deserves what he gets.
Here is a plan. Take him out of the overall channel lineup and make people select his channel and pay for it. He should then get a set pecentage of the revenue that he generates. He should also get a set percentage of the Advertising revenue.
Let him prove what he is worth. Talk about a pay cut
Who needs Howard? Didn't you hear we're gettin' 24/7 ABBA?
Jeez...We haven't had this much to be excited about since the ferris wheel. (Who here remembers the Sirius ferris wheel?)
Heja Sverige!
"He deserves what he gets"....Yeah he does and lets hope that he gets his
Let Howard stay on, for less money. He made his killing, now we would see if he really likes what he does, or is he in it just for the money.
Everything has a breaking point. Stern needed Sirius as much as Sirius needed him, but that is in the past. There is not a terrestrial station that will offere him even one-tenth as much as he his getting with satrad. I suspect that he will either sign on for $100 million for five years plus bonuses. That is one-fifth what he got under is first contract. If he doesn't accept that then he will off satrad and likely retired. At $20 million a year plus bonuses he would still be one of the highest paid celebrities in the US. The combined XM-Sirius would be the only game in town. He can't play XM against Sirius like before as they will be one company after the merger.
I assume he will retire after his contract. Then it's seeya sattelite radio. I only got Sirius for Howard..
Come on ,we all know Howard made Sirius but who really cares if he makes less if there is a "Merger Monopoly" in satellite radio he is already a rich guy (got to be the richest radio dj, I know of). Its not like he will be detroyed, income wise. It just means his salary negotiations may go down to your terestrial radio dj levels.
Howard IS sat radio. 'Nuff said. Viva la revolution!
Which is why his contract renewal will require the merged Sirius/XM to be renamed "Stern Satellite Radio".
Haha... After the contract expires, Howard hardly "needs" satellite radio, or any radio for that matter. He is an extremely wealthy man now, and he can walk away anytime. Even now, he is simply counting the days until his contract expires.
Doubt money is an issue at this point. He enjoys the freedom to be creative so I know he would never go back to terrestrial radio even if they paid him twice as much. He has alot in stock options as well...so the success of the company is success for him too. He is buddy buddy with Mel also, so I doubt they would screw one another. Either way Stern is the poster boy for what Sat Radio is and should be. The freedom to say and do whatever you want.
"Stern satellite radio" With his $ and stock, it already is.
Are you kidding! Haven't you guys been paying attention for the pass couple of years? It's not just Sirius vs XM. It's Sat vs FM, Ipod, Internet...etc. Howard Stern is worth every cent and then some. Get real, it's his channels that gets people to pay for radio. XM not hiring Howard will go down as one of the biggest business blunders ever like Coke not buying Pepsi when they had the chance. To stay in business you have to look at the long run. Howard not re-signing in 2010 will be the end of Sat radio and the NAB knows this. Look what happen to them when Howard left and that fact! Mel knows that all his eggs is in Howard's basket.
Now that the FCC has done its familiar stall and committed (maybe) to a July decision (for or against) and Congress, the NAB et al continue to file objections or what ever to mudddy the waters, Sirius should initiate a new initiative. While the FCC fumbles around and since the DOJ has given approval concerning competitive issues, Sirius and XM should form a JOINT VENTURE to develope a package of combined content to be accessable only through the Apple iPhone and iPod including the faster 3G model being introduced on July 11. The software authorized by Apple ( vs the uSirius hacked version) and sold through the new Apps stores would have the capability to listen to Sirius/XM selected content and for music have the ability to click and direct the listener to purchase the music at the iTunes store. All current and future iPhones and iPods sold WORLDWIDE would be the opportunity and each would have to purchase a subsciption to the Sirius/XM joint venture. Since the Merger has not be approved NO conditions need to be observed. Its time to wrest control of this situation from the grasp of the political hacks in Washington . Just a thought.
Stern put the Sirius brand on the map. Without him Sirius would be folding. XM was easily the top brand. It wasn't even close. Things have changed thanks to Stern. Personally I can't wait till he retires.
The need for Howard is over. He was needed because sat radio in the minds of people was XM. XM was sat radio Sirius was not known and bad boy Howard was the only person that could and did generate media coverage that took the Sirius name fron unknown to the best known.
Howard was worth the money for Sirius at the time but now he is not needed any more than any other channel.
Howard can only do what he does on sat radio so he needs Sat radio more than sat radio needs him.
XM got Oprah and as far as media coverage it was for a day or so that it was in the news nothing like howard got for over a year.
If XM had Howard Sirius would have been long gone so he WAS at the time worth the money.
Howard was the epitome of the spendng wars in this "business." It is the spending and the spending alone that is driving this merger. Neither company's management could contain its desire to spend whatever sums it took to get whatever crap programming it could get - including Richard Simmons, Martha Stewart, Oprah, etc.
Merger is a survival tactic.
Let them both go down and let News Corp and CBS run these things like real businesses.
A merger will invigorate Howard. He will re-sign and kill terrestrial radio and the ever decreasing ipod once and for all. Baba booey to y'all!
He will resign, probably for three day weeks and broadcast daily from 10-2 which will be repeated all day long. He will get to sleep in, work less and get paid less. Howard doesn't need money anymore, but he will desire to still be in the game. This idea of him walking away from the radio for good- its just not going to happen, trust me.
If Sirius was smart, they would have a "guest host" on Mondays and Fridays to fill the air time, and when he is on vacation. But that makes too much sense for Howard or sirius to go along with it.
"Howard IS sat radio. 'Nuff said. Viva la revolution!"
this is exactly why i hope this merger falls through. if this is all sirius brings to the table (besides those awesome single artist channels), then i would prefer to keep my xm programming as it is.
Stern is Mels man period.. Mel thinks that people buy Sirius radio because of Howard and the truth is they buy Sirius in spite of the fact.. it's the same at XM with O&A.. I had never heard of Opie and Anthony before XM got them.. not that it matters much... Mel will keep Howard and cut anything he has to no matter what.. if that means O&A and Oprah then thems the breaks..
Howard Stern is a disease (not a virus).
Kill the disease (the virus is fine).
Replace the disease with Jason Ellis.
He's a helluva lot better anyway.
Howard Stern is a disease (not a virus).
Kill the disease (the virus is fine).
Replace the disease with Jason Ellis.
He's a helluva lot better anyway.
Howard Stern is a disease (not a virus).
Kill the disease (the virus is fine).
Replace the disease with Jason Ellis.
He's a helluva lot better anyway.
Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin's "merge" MONOPOLY scheme will not be approved.
Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin's "merge" MONOPOLY scheme has already killed satradio.
Howard Stern, like Bubba the Love Sponge and O&A will before him will return to the future of Radio, HD Radio.
Satradio via Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin's "merge" MONOPOLY scheme is over and in the process has shown why HD Radio is the next step in Radio.
HD Digital Radio • IT'S TIME TO UPGRADE!
HD Digital Radio. It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT!
www.hdradio.com/
http://www.ibiquity.com/hd_radio
First- the FCC chairman said that the decision would be made shotly after the DOJ’s.
He lied. Then in April,Kevin Martin said it would be soon. He lied again. Then he said decision would be by June 30.
Three lies on the timing for a decision.
In baseball, it is Three strikes and your out. Where is the accountability for the FCC?
Four words: C. E. O. Bitch!
Howard Stern? Is he still on Sirius? That novelty wore off for me about 6 months in, after the 12th sybian ride. I miss the old Howard that we used to have on FM.
firefox249,
mistaken again....
Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin continues his "merge" MONOPOLY scheme, which he admitted was against regulations while the satradio industry continues on it's quick path to destruction. Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin is caught in a dream of lining his pockets one more time on the backs of consumers and the industry.
Having lower price negotiations due to being a single satellite radio entity isn't "MONOPOLY POWER." It is resisting negotiations gouging due to hostile competition BETWEEN satellite radio companies.
Do you think XM has a $650 million MLB contract because of them being the only satellite radio premium broadcast entity? No! XM has this contract at that rate because they didn't want Sirius to pick it up at "insert any lower rate here" and decimate them (XM) in the marketplace.
I bet the MLB contract would be on the order of $200 million if there were only one satellite radio entity. They still compete with terrestrial -- no "monopoly power"; no argument against the merge with Sirius. I bet the same would apply to Sirius's NFL contract. As matter of fact, I can see where this deal will allow them to save a whole host of money over time.
The merger should be a good thing -- especially when the real synergies happen -- when they can combine spectrum 20, 30, or 40 years down the line -- when they can effectively obsolete old hardware, and allow the new to be phased-in dual receivers provide a full 25MHz of spectral bandwidth -- to provide crystal clear, high quality (surround sound?) audio across every music channel on the lineup.
So the question is: does Sirius-XM need Howard Stern, more than Howard Stern needs Sirius-XM?
Satellite needs Stern FAR more than Stern needs satellite. Stern gave Sirius the biggest con job in history. Remember XM's bid of $36M a year (plus 20M for the show and studio)? Sirius didn't just outbid XM by a "couple" of million, no they outbidded XM by almost SIXTY MILLION a year more! This has got to be the biggest satellite BLUNDER in history!!!!!
There was no doubt that SIRI needed Stern, they were done, adios, see-ya-later without Stern. They bowed down like a good little doggy and took it in the butt!! Stern was the smartest man alive by taking advantage of the situation at the time.
Stern needs satellite? No way!!! Stern has more money than half of congress with the deal he got!
What? This can't be!
I've been told by everyone on this thread what a great deal Stern was for Sirius. Now, suddenly, it turns out someone things they overpaid?
No way.
Contract renewals will be pretty much irrelevant when the combined Sirius/XM entity tanks. I love my satellite radio, but upcoming technology will make it obsolete. In 3-5 years we'll have wi-fi broadband portable enough to go ANYWHERE, and there will be little market for XM or Sirius. I'd say that they could increase their chances for survival by changing their business model...being supported by ads as opposed to subscriptions.
Howard Stern is still on the radio?
In 2010, Internet Radio will be in all the cars, homes, phones etc. I bet some new interent radio will offer Howard another BIG contract. and I mean BIG with the B word. Probably for the same 5 year term. If Sat Radio does not counter, Howard will move over to internet just as he did with Satellite. Howard is not afraid to move as was seen in all his days at radio. He knows one thing and one thing only.... Follow the money.... His fans will follow him. JMHO
Anyone who thinks that big ticket content prices will go down just because there's one company is fooling themselves. Big ticket content prices follow big audiences. Since the combined entity of XM/SIRI will be bigger than their counterparts, the content will be MORE EXPENSIVE to obtain.
HOO HOO!!!! Howard's fake caller with another O&A skit from 10 years ago!.... is that all they do over at "The vIRUS" talk about Howard and his $500 Million Dollar contract! im sure the HD "revolution" is coming soon since they have "SO MUCH TO OFFER" as AC Claims FALSELY!!!!!!! manbe O&A can save it from extinction! and brag about their 0.0 to the 12 O&A pests that are left. meanwhile howard has enough money to buy an island! Shit he probally could buy sirius and Dump O&A and do us all a favor! poor club soda kenny! in sure Howard could make him a janitor though!
So the question is: does Sirius-XM need Howard Stern, more than Howard Stern needs Sirius-XM?
NO! Satellite NEEDS Stern, not the other way around.
..................................................
Watts says the more pressing issue is refinancing XM's $1.46 billion debt, a move he says could happen soon after the merger.
Yet another SIRI shill. What about SIRI's $1.7 billion dollar debt? How convenient that he leaves that out.
HOO HOO!!!! Howard's fake caller with another O&A skit from 10 years ago!.... is that all they do over at "The vIRUS" talk about Howard and his $500 Million Dollar contract! im sure the HD "revolution" is coming soon since they have "SO MUCH TO OFFER" as AC Claims FALSELY!!!!!!! maybe O&A can save it from extinction! and brag about their 0.0 to the 12 O&A pests that are left. meanwhile howard has enough money to buy an island! Shit he probally could buy sirius and Dump O&A and do us all a favor! poor club soda kenny! in sure Howard could make him a janitor though!
HOO HOO!!!! Howard's fake caller with another O&A skit from 10 years ago!.... is that all they do over at "The vIRUS" talk about Howard and his $500 Million Dollar contract! im sure the HD "revolution" is coming soon since they have "SO MUCH TO OFFER" as AC Claims FALSELY!!!!!!! maybe O&A can save it from extinction! and brag about their 0.0 to the 12 O&A pests that are left. meanwhile howard has enough money to buy an island! Shit he probally could buy sirius and Dump O&A and do us all a favor! poor club soda kenny! im sure Howard could make him a janitor though!
They don't need Howard they've got Bubba the Love Sponge - SAY IT!!!
HOO! HOO! we got a 0.0 Howard are you proud???.....we definately followed your footsteps!!!! maybe Opie can actually add something to the show instead of spending 3 hours talking about stupid shit like what gay bar he'll be appearing at for WFAG-FM! and that Dump you call the virus!
Howard Stern
6 to 12
Howard 100
It is resisting negotiations gouging due to hostile competition BETWEEN satellite radio companies.
Hmmmm.. Lost you there somewhere.
Let's see if we can work our way through this.
Content prices are HIGH because there is "Hostile Competition" BETWEEN SDAR Companies, and by removing the "Hostile Competition" BETWEEN SDAR Companies (your words) and replacing it with non-Hostile Competition with Terrestrial Radio will result in lower content prices for SDAR companies¿¿¿¿¿¿ Sure sounds like MONOPOLY POWER to me.
Since most content providers consider SDARS a separate market segment, i.e. NFL, MLB, NASCAR, etc ink separate exclusive content deals with Terrestrial Radio providers IN ADDITION to an exclusive content contract for specifically SDARS companies. Then it is impossible to consider Terrestrial Radio as offsetting competition for these content services. The content providers provide their licensed content to each market segment. And SDARS and Terrestrial Radio are generally a separate market segment. (See, NFL, MLB, NASCAR, etc)
So it is obvious that Terrestrial Radio is NOT offsetting competition for SDARS content providers. Hence, the consolidation from two SDARS providers to one will result in MONOPOLY POWER to the singular remaining SDAR provider.j
And so it goes,
PCSTEL
yeah we get it, O&A got a 0.0 because Howie said so.
wow that never gets old.
wow, if thats the edge that your old shock jock is bringin', i say bring on the revolution. "haha, he said 0.0, that there is some good radio, haha".
For fucks sake, is that all Howie has done since he has been on Sirius? it sure must be because thats what all you howard fans keep talking about.
Just once, can there be a story about Howard or O&A without the usual assortment of mouth-breathing dopes chiming in? Dopie & Anthony got a 0.0 - really? If they were really getting 0.0's, do you really think they'd still be on terrestrial and XM radio? Can't both shows be good shows, without this infantile dick measuring contest?
But seriously, thanks for your comments.... They remove all doubt as to your intelligence level.
neither xm nor sirius have ever made even a penny. "merge" or no "merge" neither has any money and the debt collector is coming. Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin wants to line his pockets with his typical version of pump and dump, which only the uneducated have a tough time figuring out. Talent, content, and programming are already seeing that the gravy train has run dry and satradio is on the fast track to implosion thanks to Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin's "merge" scheme. xm and sirius are beyond broke.
HOO HOO remember me..... i was on your show years ago when you made me look like a retard!!! HOO HOO.....look at me know howie!!!!! i host a show with a tool.....plus he directed his first movie starring bam Margera and opie's fiancee "Lynsi gets BAMMED!!!
Nothing is forever, even Howard Stern. He served a purpose when it came to placing Sirius on the map and Sirius compensated him extremely well, but Sirius can no longer afford him at his previous contract price. It's a tighter economy today than it was four years ago. If he would like to stay on at a somewhat reduced rate , maybe $30 million a year, then I am sure that they can work something out, but one thing is for sure, satrad was the best paying gig that he has ever had or will have again. Time for a more realistic approach to hiring talent. The sky is no longer the limit. No more $500+ million contracts!
Had sirius spent a billion dollars on advertising/marketing they would be doing a hell of a lot better and not face collapse when 1.5 million of their subs cancel when Howard retires. For that kind of money the amount of subs they got was nothing short of a complete failure. He can't survive on FM radio and he's a greedy fuck that will never take less money.
Had XM paid him the same amount both companies would have been out of business years ago. Not signing Howard was the best move XM ever made.
Let them both go down (along with Howard, O&A, Oprah, etc.) and let PRIMOSPHERE run satellite radio like a real business.
As far as I can guess, the 500 million dollar contract was just a publicity stunt to get people to sign up for SIRI. As always, with the Stern Show, everything is blown out of proportion. If that truly was the number, it accounts for all his stock and payment for all the people on the show. So, IMHO, he never got all that money himself. He probably knew that a pay cut was necessary to accomplish this move to SIRI. I dont know much about politics on the subject aside from my own speculations on what I read, so, Id rather not comment on things like that. But, common sense wise, thats what I think.
PS---I got Sirius before he announced he was coming on, not after. So I had the chance to experience it 'stand-alone', and I enjoyed it. So my subscription will remain. I understand he will eventually be gone and my life will go on. I drive for a living, so Sirius and my mp3 player keep me going. I just hate all the commercials on regular radio.
They should give Howard 900 million, let him do live shows every other week, two days a week, and then he can rave about the great best of shows coming on. All these satellite contracts, as someone said earlier( Howard's, Oprah's, MLB), all were way overpaid.
Bubbas waiting in the wings...diehard stern fan past 20 + years now and O&A listener when they were decent in the WAAF days find myself anticipating Bubbas show over Howards now..Bubba took awhile to grow on me,but easily the funniest show on sattelite
I can't figure out why there is all this O&A or Howard crap that goes on. I will preface this by saying I am an XM subscriber for O&A and Ron & Fez without them I would cancel. Just because I prefer one show doesn't mean that Howard sucks. Howard Stern and the NFL are the face of Sirius radio and while they are the thing that has kept Sirius afloat they are also the reason they are struggling. XM on the other hand spends all their money on baseball and dumb ass moves like Oprah.
I just don't get why O&A guys think Howard sucks and Howard guys think O&A suck. There is room out there for both.
bubba mark,
if you are what you claim then you'd know Bubba's got one foot out the door. He's done with the lack of respect and censorship of his Sirius show. Satradio under Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin's has become nothing but FM junior. Like all talent worth a damn, Bubba is already back on terrestrial and will be coast to coast on HD Radio next year. Satradio is OVER
Anonymous Cunt
SPAM IS DELICIOUS
RON AND FEZ NOON TO 3
RON AND FEZ NOON TO 3 Exclusively on the Whogivesashit Channel
The Shittiest Radio ON Radio
"
"Howard IS sat radio. 'Nuff said. Viva la revolution!"
this is exactly why i hope this merger falls through. if this is all sirius brings to the table (besides those awesome single artist channels), then i would prefer to keep my xm programming as it is."
Yeah if stern is the only good thing on sirius then, I'm not missing out on anything.
Yes Stern helped Sirius. But, if Stern was such a huge draw why didn't XM go belly-up years ago? After all who wants to listen to satilite radio if Stern isn't on it.
"After all who wants to listen to satilite radio if Stern isn't on it."
me!
yes the same programmed emo cunt bands or dinosaur rock music that terrestrial has to offer w/ tons of commercials is tempting and all,but there are a ton of stations other than howard 100 & 101
also footballs around the corner,living in Boston and being a Jets fans i like the option of not having to hear WBCN suck Tom Bradys ballsack every sunday
your welcome
Satrad needs Howard, and desparately. People won't renew their subs without Howie on board. Look what happened to FM when he left - the entire infrastructure trembled. But the FM infrastructure survived because it's many companies. The same can't be said for XM and Sirius, which is much more precarious - and totally dependent on Stern. The point is, satrad is too complicated to work with, as a consumer, without the payoff of Howard. I can't imagine what they'll pay to keep Howard on board, but they don't have a choice.
Why Howard will join O&A, Bubba and the others back at terrestrial, other than satradio's 15 minutes of fame are over and satradio is broke.....
Living Limbaugh: $400 Million Contract, Gulfstream, Scented Candles, And The "Business" Of Hating Liberals
The New York Times Magazine has a big cover story on Rush Limbaugh this week, almost 8,000 words about how Rush Limbaugh has built himself into one of the most influential voices in America. With an estimated 14 million listeners (Limbaugh claims it's more like 20 million), he's far and away the top-rated radio talk-show host in America. That's partisan radio talk-show host — and he has no intention of being left out of this election. He already created big waves, first by publicly dissing John McCain and then by encouraging Republicans to mix into the democratic primaries and vote for Hillary Clinton and keep the Democratic nomination battle in play, in what he called "Operation Chaos." Both Karl Rove and John Kerry gave it credit for having had an effect.
Now Limbaugh has extended his contract through 2016 — $38 million per year with a "nine-figure signing bonus." The total package is valued at "north of $400 million."
Signing Stern brought millions of subs, hammered FM radio and brought XM under Mel's thumb. They need him to extend his contract but nowhere near as bad as they needed him to make Sirius serious. He wants to work less and Sirius wants to pay less. A deal is there to be made.