More details have emerged regarding the huge contract Howard Stern just signed with satellite radio company SiriusXM. Stern will reportedly receive an annual salary of $90 million, and SiriusXM will have access to his vast library of material for the next 12 years.
As we recently reported, Stern is set to remain on-air at the satellite radio service for the next five years, as he announced on Tuesday's show, after negotiations on his new contract had run right down to the wire. The main sticking point in the deal was money, although Howard — who is notorious for probing his guests regarding their salaries and financial details, while refusing to reveal his own — was characteristically mum on the details. Several reports have now emerged, placing his salary at $90 million annually.
Stern reportedly earned $100 million per year in his first deal with SiriusXM, which began in 2006, while his five-year renewal fee in 2011 dropped to $80 million annually, along with a work schedule that was reduced to three days a week from the prior four. It appears there will be no significant changes in the new schedule, as company head Jim Meyer claimed, "You shouldn't see a whole lot of change in the show."
The increased salary therefore reflects, at least in part, an added component to the deal. In addition to agreeing to continue on-air for the next five years, Stern has also agreed to provide SiriusXM with exclusive access to his vast catalog of material for the next 12 years. That includes recordings of his shows from the pre-SiriusXM terrestrial radio era, which became Howard's property when he settled a lawsuit with his prior employer, CBS.
The details of the much-hyped video component that is being developed for the show are still unclear, with Meyer insisting that neither Stern nor the company has decided exactly what the new venture will encompass, and that the "creative experience will be controlled by Howard." He added, "Over the next ensuing months, we'll work to capture whatever creative process he wants."
The disparity between the time periods for the five-year on-air deal and the 12-year archive lease have raised eyebrows, with observers wondering if Stern plans to retire in 2020 at the end of the broadcasting pact. Meyers addressed the issue coyly, stating only, "I'd like to see Howard do his radio show 12 years from now."
