Earlier in the week I started to offer some perspective into what the King of All Media might do with respect to his future. Howard Stern’s contract with Sirius is up this coming December and there is absolutely little idea where things are going in terms of direction and possibility. Before Howard and his crew left for their recent two week break, it was revealed that the crew apparently knew more than they were letting on, and Howard was doing a magnificent job in keeping things quiet. I suspect that come the fall he may start to reveal any details of potential negotiations, if any have actually started.

Howard Stern is one of the most important pop culture icons ever. He has fought for free speech, and for radio freedom. His move to Sirius was the most perfect fit that ever was created. He knows how to talk to people and connects with his audience on a level that no one else can.

When I think about this great product which I am happy to have at my side, I feel even better knowing that Howard and his crew form a major part of my enjoyment of Sirius. I am entertained, and informed by what he brings to the radio. The world is a better place because of his honesty, whether you agree with what he says or not. The world needs to seriously lighten up finally when it comes to all of the taboo topics that Howard has openly spoken about for over 30 years.

From a business perspective, Sirius has not made some bright moves over the last few months (cancelling lifetime subscriptions was outright insanity), if they allow Howard to leave for terrestrial radio, it will be a tremendous loss for radio freedom.

If Howard retires, I will of course respect his decision and pay fitting tribute to his great career in radio.

Back to music next week folks. Going to talk about top 40 programming and Adult Oriented Rock. Cheers.

In the interests of keeping this story on the web pages, this week will be devoted to the King of All Media and his great programming on Howard 100 and Howard 101. This morning as this goes to the site, Howard and his crew are returning from a 2 week break where we have been listening to the History of Howard Stern Act 3. Act 4 is in the works and it will be heard this coming December during what would be the Christmas vacation for the Stern crew, if Howard signs an extension with the company.

Howard has said that he has been entertaining offers to return to terrestrial radio. I would submit that this would be insanely stupid. Howard has to be enjoying the freedom that he fought tremendously hard for his entire career. Why go back to where the format would have to be toned down? I understand if money is an issue, so be it. I have also said a thousand times before that even with the financial position Sirius is in, they have shown incredible numbers when it comes to advertising revenue that Howard’s channels have produced.

The other thing Mel Karmazin has to keep in mind besides his long-standing positive relationship with the King of All Media is why jeopardize the most positive business relationship in radio history. Mel was Howard’s boss at Infinity Broadcasting (now CBS Radio). They work well together and know how to bring in an audience.

If  Howard were to leave, it is certain he would take the majority of his audience with him. This is a risk Sirius cannot afford to take.

CFl Football has returned to Sirius. A complete programming schedule is available on the Sirius website. Opening day was a pair of games on Canada Day starting with a rematch of the Grey Cup final. The joke that arose from that game was Saskatchewan’s Pilsner Beer now comes in 13 packs…. Anyway head to Channel 98 for CFL coverage and may Saskatchewan actually win the big one this year.

The week of June 28 saw a repeat play of The History of Howard Stern Act 3. I have not found this one as funny or entertaining as the previous 2 Acts. Apparently Act 4 is in the works likely to be aired during what will either be the last full week of Howard being on Sirius or during the Christmas vacation if he re-signs. Head up to Howard 100 and Howard 101 for all the craziness and madness that is the King of All Media.

Sirius 61 Prime Country is continuing with Brooks and Dunn Mondays right through to the end of the Labour Day weekend. Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn are sharing stories from their storied career and playing some of their favourite music, even if it is not country.

You may not be a fan of or even want to entertain anything related to Martha Stewart, but fact is her channel does contain some valuable information for everyone and anybody. I certainly appreciate the variety of material available through her site and the shows that are airing. From food to pet care, there is something up at Sirius Channel 112 Martha Stewart Living Radio.

The speculation continues to grow on whether or not The King of All Media will return to Studio 69 in 2011. Stern’s contract is up at the end of the year and Sirius will need to move soon in order to prevent a lucrative offer from taking Stern and his advertising power with him.

It was recently suggested that even with the financial troubles at SiriusXM, Stern is rumoured to have brought in a whopping total of a billion dollars in advertising revenue since the commencement of his contract. Meanwhile SiriusXM continues to review the contracts of other personalities and program formats searching for ways to save money. 

SiriusXM has the opportunity to re-sign someone who is arguably one of the biggest names it will ever host on the airwaves. While it would certainly be understandable should Howard elect to retire after a 30 plus year as a revolutionary radio host, it makes better sense for SiriusXM to give Howard another 5 year deal. This would be long enough for advertising sales to really give the boost the company needs and for better financial decisions to be made elsewhere in the company.

Stern has been approached by a handful of companies to return to Terrestrial Radio. I would personally hate to see this happen since the kind of formatting Howard is allowed to present on his channels is something he worked his entire career towards achieving.

Hopefully on these pages by the end of the year, I and other Stern fans will be toasting his staying with SiriusXM. The world needs more of his sense of humour and blunt honest precision in a world full of phonies and pathetic news broadcasts.

I have spent some time reviewing the list of who’s who on Sirius 102 and 108, Sirius Stars and Stars Too respectively. I have jokingly told some subscribers that these two channels appear to be the last real havens for once popular talk show hosts, be it television or radio, to give these people an avenue to speak out on. This is of course not entirely true. I am still in amazement that Dr. Laura pulls in the listening audience with such ease. I can recall hearing her evening show on AM terrestrial radio in Calgary during the night shift. She was and still is controversial and over the top in her delivery. I may disagree with her position on so many things, but I still respect her ability to speak her mind and say what is on her mind.

Sirius’s recent addition of Rosie O’Donnell and her Rosie Radio Show (Sirius 102), has brought a loyal band of her followers over to Sirius.

I will be the first to tell you I am not a major fan of Rosie and some of the things she has said. Take free speech into consideration and it is all good to hear her do her thing, I am just not a fan of how she communicates certain ideas. It seems she very much has a  home on Rosie Radio and is pulling in some great guests and good reviews.

Sirius Stars Too features a show from one of my favourite stand-outs on the entertainment dial, third to Howard Stern and Bubba the Love Sponge, that being the Jay Thomas show. Jay’s show is entertaining and thought provoking. They are also heard on Howard 101 on Friday mornings at 7 a.m. and are worth a listen.

If you never thought to go to these channels, go to the Sirius website and review the channel listings for further information under Sirius Stars and Stars Too.

I have debated for some time if I was going to wade into the discussions and silly rumours about Howard Stern going to American Idol to replace Simon Cowell. The only reason I am now speaking out is because it seems to be one of the few main topics being thrown around on the Stern show. I am amazed at how many people have come up to me saying that it was going to happen and how “horrible” it will be.

First, I do not enjoy watching American Idol. I never did and never will. I agree with Howard’s assessment that the show is nothing more than a Karaoke contest. Even though the show has discovered some (albeit few) great vocal talents, overall it is a joke.

If these strange people would actually listen to Howard talk about his feelings about the show, you know full well by how he is talking that he would likely be the last candidate to join this judging panel. His constant slamming of the show and the judges is pretty clear cut to me. No producer in their right mind would look at someone who is slamming the very show and offer a contract to that particular person!  It is simple logic!

Howard may also be posturing somewhat in order to draw attention to his deal with Sirius being up at the end of the year. If Howard is telling the truth, then negotiations have yet to commence on whether Sirius is going to have him back. I am certain that given the traffic Howard has confirmed to have brought over to Sirius, it would be another costly business mistake if Sirius lets him go back to Terrestrial Radio.

Howard merely mentioning American Idol while tiring, has served to produce a few hilarious pieces of dialogue. As for his real future, the wait continues.

Dann

It is the week of Christmas and for many people the holidays are in full swing. Hope all of you will enjoy your radio programming over the holidays. Whether its reviewing the great selection of holiday music available, classic favourites from your most loved stations or the wide range of specials happening on different channels.

I will be tuning in to the History of Howard Stern Act III for the duration of the holidays. This has been in the works since the beginning of 2009 and Stern nerds like myself are anxiously awaiting this great global premiere.

Sirius 18 the Spectrum recently hosted John Mayer playing a great set of tunes from his new record “Battle Studies” and he also spun several of his personal favourites. There will be one more re-broadcast of this special at 3:00 eastern today. The Sirius website on this lists incorrect dates however it is apparently 3:00 today for the final re-broadcast. 

Let’s return to a quick review of the holiday programming still running on Sirius right now.

Radio Hanukkah just wrapped up another great run on Sirius 76.

Channel 3- Holly, contempotary and traditional holiday favourites. Online listeners unfortunately are still getting the Sirius Love feed for reasons myself and several readers here have not been able to find out. Holly runs until December 31.

Channel 4 – Holiday Traditions, playing traditional and memorable recordings from the pre and post formative rock and roll years. Running until December 31.

Channel 79 – Holiday Pops, classical carolling sung by some of the greatest choirs and vocalists in history. Running until Deceber 31.

Channel 62 – Country Christmas, great Christmas country classics sung by some of the best country artists.

Enjoy the week everyone!

The holiday season is upon us and subscribers are enjoying the great variety of programming available. From the great holiday music to your old and new favourites, it is great to turn up the volume while polishing up the decorations or wrapping those presents.

Last week I posted a significantly detailed piece about the upcoming programming week for the Howard Stern show. Normally when guest co-announcer George Takei is about to make his every now and then appearance it is at certain times of the year. I was really dissapointed to not hear George along with the rest of the Stern gang Monday morning. While at the time of this writing there is still a chance that he might appear Thursday, overall it has been a major let down for Stern fans who expected a traditional week of pre-holiday insanity. Meanwhile Stern show regular and comedian Artie Lange is off indefinetly dealing with some health issues. Certainly wish him the best and a quick return to the show.

If you are tired of the usual music programming and find yourself wanting to take a breather from it, consider spending some time on the comedy channels with Raw Dog, Blue Collar Radio and Laugh USA. The guarantee with listening to some great stand-up comedy is that even if you find yourself not receptive to funny stuff, after a half hour or so one of the great performers featured will say something that will crack you up and stick in your memory.

Again, it is worth considering Sirius as a gift to that hard to buy for shopper. They will love having the great variety at their fingertips the way we all do now!

Everyone has that one difficult person close to them that they are stuck on for a Christmas gift ideas. Maybe they have everything they need and truly need nothing else. But perhaps they love a specific kind of music. Maybe they might enjoy the work of a particular personality who happens to have a home on Sirius like Martha Stewart or Howard Stern.

Sirius Radio makes the absolute perfect holiday gift for anyone. Many people who hear about Sirius will blow off the possibility of joining this great revolution with many excuses. “They won’t have any music I like”, is the most common one I hear. Yet I can easily turn that around by throwing a curve ball. Usually goes like this, “but you can hear different varieties of classical that terrestrial radio not often plays!” People are always surprised when they read a channel list that details the great entertainment available.

My Dad for instance, is very specific about the type of music he enjoys. He loves much of what Sirius has to offer but it seems like it is not enough. The Roadhouse and the music through the 40′2 and 70’s stations will make him smile, but what kind of channel would convince him of the value of Sirius?

My answer is going to be Bluegrass Junction, Sirius 65. He will not believe that the world can have an entire station devoted to this great brand of music.

Besides Howard Stern, I was sold on the idea of a Heavy Metal station and a Classic Metal and Hard Rock Station, these being Liquid Metal and The Boneyard respectively.

Even if talk radio or sports radio does not do it for people, most in the world like one kind of music. Sirius is a gift that your family member or friend will be eternally grateful for. The subscription worth every penny and pays for itself in no time flat!

After the Thanksgiving break for the Howard Stern show is an exciting time for fans as original Star Trek cast member George Takei should be appearing soon for a full week stint. The brilliantly funny guest announcer is still under contract to appear on the show for three full weeks out of each year. Should Howard re-sign with Sirius, hopefully he will increase George’s appearances as he did so this year. George adds serious hilarity and vulgarity to the show with his open discussions and takes on his private life. George and his partner recently purchased a place in New York. Since they now split time between both coasts, this is fueling speculation George may become a permanent fixture of the show on a regular basis if Howard stays with Sirius.

With the holidays approaching, George will debut new gay themed parody songs written by the madmen writers of the Stern show.

While many fans complain that Howard is on vacation way too much, the first few days after a vacation week are always phenomenal and contain laughter and great material from all cast!

6 a.m. Eastern on Howard 100 Monday morning!