Howard Stern show producer Gary Dell'Abate, sidekick Artie Lange, and comedians Nick DiPaolo, Jim Florentine and Dave Attell came under fire after performing a comedy show in Afghanistan.

The comics had just finished a set for troops in Kandahar when the base came under attack.

"Everything was going fine until the end," a friend of the comics, who heard from them by cell phone, told the Daily News. "They were all done with their sets, and they were headed in a car convoy to a meet-and-greet elsewhere, but they only made it about 20 yards.

"The military base they were on came under mortar fire, and the convoy was turned around."

Troops led the comics into a secure bunker, where the comedians - all uninjured - waited until the shelling stopped. They went on to continue the USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour at other undisclosed locations in the Persian Gulf.

Dell'Abate's rep confirmed the incident but couldn't comment.

[NY Daily News]
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

XM Radio is set to launch Kenny Chesney's "No Shoes Radio," starting July 26th on XM channel 18.

"No Shoes Radio," will feature music from Chesney's audio catalog, including never-before-heard recordings, an uncut, exclusive concert broadcast from the "2008 Poets & Pirates Tour," plus random drop-ins from fans and friends.

Georgetown Partners is working with terrestrial radio broadcasters urging the Federal Communications Commission to deny the Sirius-XM merger, or have it reworked to be in favor of the minority-owned firm's own proposals.

Chester Davenport (pictured), managing director at Georgetown Partners, was joined by Walter Ulloa, Chairman and CEO of Entravision Communications Corporation - a broadcaster that primarily targets the Hispanic community - in separate meetings with two FCC Commissioners late last week.

FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein met with the Davenport and Ulloa, according to recent filings, and were encouraged to "outright reject" the merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

"The parties should not be permitted to change the rules and reap the financial windfall of a monopoly when they paid the U.S. Treasury only for a license that precluded merger with the only other SDARS competitor," writes Georgetown Partners is a highly-detailed filing.

Georgetown Partners and Entravision even cited the (flawed?) Arbitron numbers, stating that the elimination of channels from Sirius-XM's lineup to accommodate Georgetown's lease proposal of 20% of spectrum "would affect just 2% of [Sirius-XM's] listening audience" due to the high concentration of listeners "around a relatively small number of channels."

Additionally, the Georgetown and Entravision cited Mel Karmazin's statement that Don Imus would be welcome on Sirius following his "offensive racial comments" - even though Imus never actually violated any FCC regulations.

More Democrats are weighing in, urging the FCC for stronger conditions on the merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, five House Democrats from Minnesota voiced their disapproval for the 8% spectrum set-aside for non-commercial/minority programming that Sirius-XM have proposed.

Reps. Betty McCollum, James Oberstar (pictured), Collin Peterson, Keith Ellison, and Timothy Walz feel that Sirius-XM's proposal of spectrum set-aside could instead result "in fewer noncommercial channels for satellite radio customers than they currently enjoy." Instead, the are asking for a minimum of a 25% set-aside, echoing a similar request by other key Democrats that include Sen. John Kerry.

Following an extremely negative rating from Goldman Sachs nearly two weeks ago, Merrill Lynch analyst Glen Campbell is raising his rating on Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. to a "buy" follow the bullish post-merger guidance from management.

XM said today that it will carry games for all 12 Southeastern Conference (SEC) teams, including every SEC football game, starting this fall.

Seven SEC teams are currently heard on XM. But now the five remaining teams - Alabama, Auburn, Florida, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt - will come aboard XM starting with the fall 2008 football season.

This means that XM is now the satellite radio home for literally every SEC team and a culmination of a process that started in March 2007 when XM became the official satellite radio provider for the conference.

In addition to every SEC football game, XM will carry the majority of SEC men's basketball teams and key baseball and women's basketball games. This includes the SEC championship games in football, basketball, and baseball.

 

XM is launching the Uncle Sam Channel on Friday, a musical melting pot of songs all about America in celebration of Independence Day.

The Uncle Sam Channel will provide the perfect soundtrack for the holiday, whether you're just enjoying the 4th of July in the back yard or driving cross-country from sea to shining sea.

Tune in to XM Live (ch 120) on Friday, July 4th all day long (12am to midnight ET) to hear classics like Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," Charlie Daniels' "In America," Jimi Hendrix's "The Star Spangled Banner," and Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A."

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]

On Monday, July 7th, Sirius will debut a channel dedicated to the Swedish pop group ABBA, for two weeks.

Set to launch in conjunction with the film adaptation of the musical MAMMA MIA! (opening in theaters on July 18th), ABBA Radio will air 24/7 ABBA music and will also feature tracks from the original cast recording of the hit stage musical.

You'll also hear Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth will sing ABBA songs on the soundtrack to MAMMA MIA! The Movie, which will be released the next day on July 8th.