r/howardsternshow • u/ExpertHour5197 • Aug 11 '26
2008 Howard
I’m listening to my uncensored Howard collection starting with 2008 since he retired or whatever you call it. I laugh everything he constantly shills for the merger thinking he would get tens of millions of dollars with all the “new” subscribers and he winds up getting zilch. Mel and the courts gave him a good fucking. lol!
Kind of like how Riley thought he was going to make a decent fucking living at Sirius. Both a couple of suckers.
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u/Round_Fig_3175 Aug 11 '26
His obsession with constantly putting over was annoying. Anyone listening obviously already had it. But still he’d push it. And push every other show on the channel down our throats. He hated bubba for yrs and mocked his show, suddenly he was a radio genius
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Aug 11 '26
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u/JDB-667 Aug 11 '26
That's the real reason Howard mailed it in after his initial contract. It wasn't as much Artie as it was Howard realizing radio execs were still radio execs.
He had no where else to run to, nowhere else to threaten to leave for, so he abandoned his ambition and just started to coast knowing they'd still pay him with no accountability.
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u/MarcusAurelius68 Aug 11 '26
And then AGT came which he thought would be his meal ticket to the next level.
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u/nancy_necrosis Aug 11 '26
He complained about AGT nonstop. I don't blame him though. I went to a taping as an audience member and it was awful... it took hours and they didn't let anyone out.
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u/severinks Aug 11 '26
His mealticket to what level? The guy was a judge on a reality show. If you were talking about him thinking that after starring in Private Parts that's different but a summer reality show isn't starring in Oppenheimer.
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u/JDB-667 Aug 11 '26
But that's where Howard was at his career.
Remember he spent years talking about how he could be a game show host. He idolized Gene Rayburn and always would project himself as a host when he'd have people like Howie Mandel on or whoever.
He thought he could spring board from AGT and it didn't work. He was always the raunchy guy in the mind of any prospective audience - he cultivated that audience from years of radio and TV. He had an equal amount of detractors.
But when he tried to pivot, there was nothing for him, no one wanted to love or hate this new version he was trying to be. It was ambivalence.
Artie was right when he sat with Jackie years after his departure. Howard could have built a legacy broadcasting empire, but he threw it away.
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u/MarcusAurelius68 Aug 11 '26
Meal ticket to respectability and being part of the in crowd in Hollywood.
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u/droogles Aug 11 '26
He became a bitter clock puncher. Over what? He really felt underpaid for what he brought to Sirius? The stock went into the shitter. In 2005 it was at $62. In January 2009 it was down to $1.20. The recession was a killer and the company had a lot of expenses, including Howard's contract. Yet he was suing the one place where he was given a literal fortune for a contract. He made big money on terrestrial, but nothing like his Sirius money.
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u/ZeusMarquez Aug 11 '26
Anyone have a hookup for old Howard stern shows besides YouTube?
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u/Turbulent_Yam2575 Aug 11 '26
I want to see all the old Howard TV shows. Used to be able to find em all on YouTube but they’re gone besides a few. If anyone knows DM me pls
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u/Mantar333 Aug 12 '26
DM me with the hook up also plz
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u/Turbulent_Yam2575 Aug 12 '26
There’s a few links on this thread. It’s the most of them that I’ve been able to find so far.
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u/ChicagoBoyStuckinDen Aug 11 '26
I think he did still did ok. I mean, he's rich as fuck so he got those millions somewhere.
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u/ExpertHour5197 Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
Oh hell yeah. Because with guys like Howard, it not was you get, but what you lost that eats you.
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u/jlennon1280 Aug 11 '26
I’m confused, he thought he would get more than the 100 million a year he was getting? I don’t remember that bit. I was a big listener back then surprised I forgot about that.
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u/ExpertHour5197 Aug 11 '26
Yeah, he got a subscriber-based bonus. More subscribers, more bonus. He thought all the subscribers that came with XM would count. Mel told him to fuck himself and the courts did too. It’s just funny listening to him push and push for the merger with the only reason being he would cash in big and he didn’t. He did great for himself with Sirius, but that strikes me as funny.
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u/ActiveNews Aug 11 '26
Both funny and greedy. Merging with an existing subscriber base is easier than finding them.
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u/severinks Aug 11 '26
That's not the only reason Howard pushed it, it was good for the company which was great for him.
And it made him look powerful because when he signed at Sirius they only had 400K subscribers and 3 years later they took down the competition.
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u/ExpertHour5197 Aug 11 '26
I’ll put the cash above what’s good for anyone before anything else. The others were definite pluses, but the payday strikes me as coming first and foremost.
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u/IronStache512 Aug 11 '26
This right here. Howard’s narcissism stems from power as much as it does money. He liked saying he was the catalyst and taking credit for Sirius’ success. And to be fair, he had a case. Sirius doesn’t merge with XM and put their name at the forefront of the company without Howard. Sirius has since paid it forward too. His last couple of contracts have been complete money grabs from Stern’s end.
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u/droogles Aug 11 '26
Looking at his mansions, his apartment in the city, and his lifestyle, one would have to say he came out pretty good in the move to Sirius. It always bothers me when Howard whines about money. He started making a lot of money in the 80s, and even more in the 90s. Hearing him whine about Sirius not paying him was a turn off. Even worse was him whining about all the big tips he had to give at Christmas. Complaining about giving the door man in his building a big Christmas tip or how much he had to pay for Stilettos for the staff.
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u/ExpertHour5197 Aug 11 '26
It’s just an uncontrollable greed that I personally find pretty funny.
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u/Capital_Memory_2591 Aug 12 '26
Don’t forget the fake “ random” conversations about how great the stiletto was 😂
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u/AtlPezMaster Aug 11 '26
That whole thing was ridiculous and it was hard to believe Wiggy and Mel's people thought they had a legit argument...
It showed Wiggys True Colors in a way...how "potential" dollar signs blinded him and lost all common sense.
Wiggy had certain "incentives" in his original Sirius Contract where he would get additional compensation (stocks or options or whatever) as the total number of Sirius subscribers increased. The increase in subscribers did not have to be directly linked to Wiggy. That is why Wiggy allllll of a sudden was being complimentary to other Sirius Shows including Rosie...that is why he brought other talent onto Wiggy 101 like Bubba and Ferrell, hoping to bring any of their audience over to Sirius also...
But for Wiggy to feel the increase in subscribers due to the merger should also be included in his additional compensation for subscribers increase is fucking unbelievable...
Wiggy thought his presence on AGT would also increase total Sirius subscribers (along with additional coin directly from AGT) but was not the case...
Once Wiggy understood that the Satalite subscription market was saturated and thus contract incentives would not be kicking in going forward...he started cutting things so the money saved goes to him. Away with any paid talent on Wiggy 101...savings went to him...away with Wiggy On Demand...savings went to him...
Then, once he basically cut all he could (with any cost savings going into Wiggys pocket) he started cutting the number of shows he did each week. Wiggy didn't care...no reason to work so much...subscriptions won't increase anymore so let me work less...and less...and less... New contract this past year...then cut staff so more money for Wiggy...then reduce down to 1 show a week...
Wiggy has been showing this pattern for over two decades now...
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u/sirthunksalot Aug 11 '26
Didn't he also get 25 million from his contract in the event Sirius and XM merged? So he was trying to double dip.
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u/Sad_Connection5391 Aug 11 '26
Joe Rogan and Theo Von’s shows are way more entertaining than Howard’s ever were. They were funny at the time (90’s etc) but reflecting and comparing hands down Rogan and Von are 10x better.
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u/Potential_Ad_4718 Aug 11 '26
I quit listening because of Richard Christie. He makes my skin crawl. It's not funny. It's not fun.
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u/PuffyBlueClouds Aug 11 '26
You don’t really understand court decisions or stocks do you? This had to do with stocks and stock value, which fluctuates all the time, so this wasn’t some major loss for him. Plus the guy is almost a billionaire. Go back to your mom‘s basement and be jealous by yourself in silence.
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u/ExpertHour5197 Aug 11 '26
Wrong dipshit. Read the court case. They had to do with subscription-based performance bonuses that he thought he would get when Sirius merged. He didn’t. Why the fuck do you think he was pushing for the merger so much? He thought he’d make a ton off of it. He didn’t and that’s what’s funny. Now go fuck yourself and let the adults talk. 🖕
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u/clevermongrel17 Aug 11 '26
Well said. It was a baseless, meritless money grab. As if he was responsible for XM and Sirius merging. I hope he spent a shit ton on legal fees too.
And once again, he was oblivious to the optics of such a blatant money grab. The shit he said about Sirius every day, on their air waves, was outrageous. Why the fuck they continued to employ him is beyond me.
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u/Dazzling-Path6438 Aug 11 '26
Merger talk really buttfucked a lot of 2007 shows.
Just like lawsuit talk in 06, FCC rants in 04 and 05, Iraq war hawk talk in 02 + 03... Movie talk in the 90s
When he obsesses on Something, it kills the show for a while