Competitive Intelligence

Will Howard Stern Save Satellite Radio & Doom Public Airwaves in the Process?

Flanked by strippers and personalities from his show, radio host Howard Stern spoke to thousands gathered in New York's Union Square where 500 Sirius satellite radios were given out, November 18. After years of FCC fines and content controversy, Stern will broadcast his show on the subscription-based Sirius for five years beginning in 2006. And, he's likely to get a lot longer leash from the FCC, as cable has in TV broadcasting. For the newly initiated, PCMag's Lance Ulanoff had a nice rundown:

For those unfamiliar with satellite radio, let me explain a bit. It's a now 12-year-old technology that offers 24-hour-a-day, commercial-free listening on dozens of stations that are divided up by genre--not by location. This means you can listen to your favorite country-music station no matter where you are and never lose a signal as you cross state lines. The content is more or less like the hundreds of niche channels available on cable. Want to listen to comedy 24/7? Satellite radio's got you covered. The two main players in the game, Sirius and XM Satellite, have been fighting tooth and nail for years and are finally starting to see some traction. XM surpassed the million-subscribers mark late last year, with Sirius trailing behind with nearly half a million subscribers as of May.

Now Howard Stern, a nationally syndicated radio personality who I've listened to for over 20 years, is leaving the analog radio world (in 2006) to dive—or rocket—head-first onto the Sirius satellite network. Upon hearing the news, I reflexively began investigating buying a satellite radio unit. I'm particularly intrigued by the devices that go from your car stereo system to your desktop like the Delphi XM SKYFi radio and XM's new truly portable MiFi (I'm aware that these devices will not carry Howard, but I hope to find similar capabilities in hardware that supports Sirius). I still have misgivings about the annuity, but I cannot imagine a morning without Stern. The fact that I'm considering shouldering the extra fiscal burden to maintain my auditory connection to a man many people consider vile is remarkable to me and should be heartening news for the satellite radio industry.

On the one hand, I now imagine legions of fearful radio listeners like me preparing for the day Stern leaves the free airwaves, attempting to convince their spouses that the extra expense is worth it and necessary for their well being. On the other hand, Stern may have miscalculated. What if no one follows him?

But, we’ll see if Stern can crush what most Americans call radio on the public airwaves, as he’s vowed to do. Some LA area FM broadcasters requested an obscenity provision October 28, days after Stern announced he was moving to satellite radio. Stern said he's leaving Infinity Broadcasting, the country's No. 2 public radio operator and a Viacom business unit, when his current employment contract expires in part because of the government's recent crackdown on television and radio programming deemed indecent.

In making his announcement, Stern railed against public radio and said he would try to destroy it when he joins Sirius. Broadcasters’ rep Saul Levine told Broadcasting & Cable magazine that he was alarmed by Stern's pledge and "decided to fight back to protect the radio industry" by launching the obscenity provision with the FCC. Looks to me like it's shaping up to be quite a fight.

- Arik