Shock jock promises live sex
2006-01-09 07:57
New York - Brace yourself: controversial host Howard Stern begins his new show on satellite radio on Monday.
Finally free of federal decency laws, Stern has promised everything from stripper poles to live sex on Sirius Satellite Radio. His deal could be worth up to $500m over five years to headline two Sirius channels.
Even before his first day on the job, the shock jock recruited listeners for the $13-per-month service: Its audience expanded from 600 000 to 2.2 million subscribers after Stern announced his switch last year.
That's hardly a surprise. Stern's wildly popular syndicated show proved a cash cow for Infinity Broadcasting, raking in about $100m (about R609m) in annual advertising revenues and capturing 12 million listeners with raunchy, boundary-pushing programming.
Stern had frequently tested and sparred with the regulatory Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during his 25-year run on the public airwaves, often having his morning show interrupted by censors.
Weeks after Janet Jackson's Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction, Clear Channel yanked Stern from six stations amid an FCC crackdown. Stern signed with Sirius five months later.
"I thought Clear Channel and companies like that were going to fight the FCC," Stern, 51, said. "I kept hanging around. And they never fought back ... they are cowards. They bow, and they deserve to be destroyed."
Stern broadcast his last FM radio show on December 16 as thousands of fans gathered outside his New York City studio.
- AP