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<v Speaker 1>Caloroga Shark Media. Hi, I'm Johnny Mack. My phone is

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<v Speaker 1>blowing up with people asking me about this Howard Stern story.

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<v Speaker 1>So I thought, let me just record a commentary episode.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not working off the script. I'm just talking off

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<v Speaker 1>the top of my head. In case you missed it,

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<v Speaker 1>the US Sun was the original source of this The

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<v Speaker 1>US Sun last week. Let me pull up the proper headline,

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<v Speaker 1>just to get it right. The Howard Stern Show to

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<v Speaker 1>be canceled after nearly twenty years, right, So, canceled is

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<v Speaker 1>a loaded word in twenty twenty five the US Sun,

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<v Speaker 1>And I'll let you for yourself decide where that is

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<v Speaker 1>in terms of reporting, somewhere between the New York Times

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<v Speaker 1>and Daily Comedy News. Whatever you think of the US Sun,

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<v Speaker 1>this is from the US Sun. An insider said, Stern's

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<v Speaker 1>contract goes up to the fall, and while Sirius is

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<v Speaker 1>planning to make him an offer, they don't intend for

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<v Speaker 1>him to take it serious. And Stern are never going

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<v Speaker 1>to meet on the money he's going to want. It's

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<v Speaker 1>no longer worth the investment after you saw what happened

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<v Speaker 1>with Stephen Colbert. It's just like they can't afford to

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<v Speaker 1>keep them going. Okay, okay, okay, okay. So once we

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<v Speaker 1>say the word cancel, now we're also talking about Stephen Colbert.

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<v Speaker 1>Forget about the Stephen Colbert of it all. But that

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<v Speaker 1>totally to the side. This has nothing to do with this.

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<v Speaker 1>The source claims. If Sirius isn't going to give Stern

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<v Speaker 1>a good offer, I don't think I would have anything

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<v Speaker 1>to do with his ratings. It's more likely everything to

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<v Speaker 1>do with the political climate. Now we'll see some more

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<v Speaker 1>nonsense articles talking about how many people are listening to Howard,

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<v Speaker 1>and I will get into that as well. Listen to me.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's the premise of everything I'm going to say. And

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<v Speaker 1>I say this as somebody who was already listening to

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<v Speaker 1>WNBC as a was I even a teenager. Yet when

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<v Speaker 1>Howard first came to the WNBC, I was already a

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<v Speaker 1>listener to the station. And then this guy named Howard

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<v Speaker 1>Stern started doing afternoons. I followed him to k Rock.

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<v Speaker 1>I was at Serious Satellite Radio when the deal was announced.

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<v Speaker 1>I was in Los Angeles the morning it was announced.

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<v Speaker 1>I was there when Howard came on board, and we

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<v Speaker 1>had fewer than one million subscribers. If I remember the

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<v Speaker 1>numbers correctly, and I will tell you this. There is

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<v Speaker 1>zero chance I'm not leaving the door open a crack,

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<v Speaker 1>zero chance, zero chance that Howard Stern is gonna come

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<v Speaker 1>back from summer vacation and be like, Yep, that's it, Robin.

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<v Speaker 1>We're doing nine ten more weeks and that's it for

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<v Speaker 1>my career. No way. Okay. I've heard people refer to

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<v Speaker 1>the Derek Jeter farewell tour. That's what you're gonna get.

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<v Speaker 1>Remember when Johnny Carson. Maybe you don't because I'm ancient,

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<v Speaker 1>those of us who remember when Johnny Carson stepped down,

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<v Speaker 1>you're going to get that. I always predicted Howard would

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<v Speaker 1>do a two year farewell tour, and I'm still not

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<v Speaker 1>sure that he won't. I guarantee you he does at

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<v Speaker 1>least a one year farewell tour. Now write this down

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<v Speaker 1>because people are just being stupid. Write this down. Okay.

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<v Speaker 1>Howard has not really been in the news for like

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen years, and now everybody's talking about him every day.

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<v Speaker 1>He loves that. He absolutely loves that. Here's what's gonna happen.

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<v Speaker 1>He's gonna come back in September off the summer break,

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<v Speaker 1>and he's going to lightly talk about the rumors. He's

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<v Speaker 1>gonna dangle. He's gonna say phrases like I don't know

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<v Speaker 1>what's going to happen, Robin. He's going to joke about

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<v Speaker 1>how they're getting to the end. He is going to

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<v Speaker 1>milk this for the entire fall, and on the very

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<v Speaker 1>last day into Christmas break. So I'm not sure how

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<v Speaker 1>late into the month Howard works these days, But maybe

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<v Speaker 1>Thursday December eleventh, maybe Thursday December eighteenth, if I have

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<v Speaker 1>to pick, I'm going to pick Thursday December eleventh, Howard

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<v Speaker 1>and serious announce, Oh yeah, we've extended a deal. Now

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<v Speaker 1>will he get one hundred million dollars reportedly this time?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know. I have seen in the entertainment industry

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<v Speaker 1>people renew for less and do less work. Now, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know how much less work Howard could possibly do

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<v Speaker 1>with the summers off in the three day weeks. But

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<v Speaker 1>both sides are going to want the farewell tour. They

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<v Speaker 1>were going to want every celebrity coming in, Lady Ganga,

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<v Speaker 1>Paul McCartney, all the greats coming in and telling Howard

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<v Speaker 1>how wonderful he is as he tries to cement this

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<v Speaker 1>legacy that he's not the shock jock, he's not the

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<v Speaker 1>person that did the ted dance and sketch. He's not

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<v Speaker 1>lesbian dial of Date guy, he's not Beast Reality dial

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<v Speaker 1>a day guy. He's the respectful great interviewer that he's

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<v Speaker 1>been trying to spend these last few years. There will

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<v Speaker 1>be a farewell tour. The idea that Howard Stern is

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<v Speaker 1>just quietly going to go into the night, no way,

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<v Speaker 1>and conflating this with Colbert that's just nonsense. So more

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<v Speaker 1>nonsense going around is this nonsense that Howard Stern has

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<v Speaker 1>an enemy at Serious XM. Again, the source on all

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<v Speaker 1>this the US Son. I'll let you determine how much

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<v Speaker 1>you enjoy the writing of the US Sun. So this

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<v Speaker 1>version of the story, which got amplified by page six.

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<v Speaker 1>Who are sourcing the Sun? Is that Serious XM executives

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<v Speaker 1>have to take pains to keep Alex Cooper and Howard

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<v Speaker 1>Stern from running into each other. Now, please understand the

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<v Speaker 1>geography of the Serious headquarters in New York City, where

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<v Speaker 1>I worked for ten years. Now. I haven't been into

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<v Speaker 1>building a ten years, so maybe perhaps possibly there's been

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<v Speaker 1>a major change. But I do know some former co

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<v Speaker 1>workers and no one has mentioned this to me. When

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<v Speaker 1>I was there, Howard was off in his own compound.

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<v Speaker 1>You couldn't get into howard Land unless your key card

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<v Speaker 1>would let you into howard Land. Mine did not. And

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<v Speaker 1>you never ever, ever, ever saw Howard Stern, except if

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<v Speaker 1>you happen to be in the lobby when he was

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<v Speaker 1>leaving for the day, walking from Howard Land to the

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<v Speaker 1>freight elevator, which he would take down because you don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to write a civilian elevator. You might run into

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<v Speaker 1>some civilians. You didn't see him in the hallway, you

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<v Speaker 1>didn't se him in meetings, he didn't see him in

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<v Speaker 1>the bathroom. He's off in howard Land. So this idea

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<v Speaker 1>that I don't know he's going to run into the

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<v Speaker 1>hallway and see Alex Cooper. Even if Alex Cooper happened

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<v Speaker 1>to be standing in front of the freight elevator, it

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<v Speaker 1>would be a six second encounter. An insider told the son,

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<v Speaker 1>she's the one that bugs him. She gets hundreds of

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<v Speaker 1>millions of hits. She has this mega one hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five million dollar deal, and he hates that this

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<v Speaker 1>young bubbly woman is the new thing. They have to

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<v Speaker 1>keep Howard away from her. They have to keep Howard

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<v Speaker 1>away from when she comes to New York, so he's

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<v Speaker 1>there three days a week. I don't know how often

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<v Speaker 1>she's there. This is a non story. The source claimed.

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<v Speaker 1>It's completely turned Howard's world upside down. He's been in

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<v Speaker 1>radio forty years and this change has really shocked everyone.

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<v Speaker 1>Alex and Joe Rogan. These massive podcasters have traditional radio

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<v Speaker 1>guys stunned. This is all silly. I am also a

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<v Speaker 1>college professor, and I have walked people through the math

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<v Speaker 1>of the Howard Stern deal for over a decade. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>Serious these days has a trillion different plans and I

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<v Speaker 1>try to look into it and I don't understand it.

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<v Speaker 1>But the math, the way I used to teach it

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<v Speaker 1>when I worked there, Serious was thirteen dollars a month. Okay, Now,

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<v Speaker 1>how many people do you think came over for Howard?

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<v Speaker 1>When Howard came over, we had around a million subs.

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<v Speaker 1>They've eventually got up to thirty million subs. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>think one million people came over for Howard Stern in

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand and six? Is that an absurd number? Let's

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<v Speaker 1>use that number. So if a million people came over

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<v Speaker 1>and paid thirteen dollars a month for twelve months a year.

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<v Speaker 1>That's one hundred and fifty six million dollars. You give

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred million to Howard, you make a fifty six

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<v Speaker 1>million dollar profit. If the number's not one million, if

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<v Speaker 1>it's two million, now you're making some serious change. I

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<v Speaker 1>saw a report the other day that said Howard's audiences

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<v Speaker 1>down to only one hundred and twenty five thousand listeners.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know where someone would get that number from.

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<v Speaker 1>When I worked there, you had no way to know

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<v Speaker 1>who was listening to what on the satellite radios. You

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<v Speaker 1>could look at Internet data and extrapolate it from streaming.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe the newer radios have some two way capabilities that

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not aware of. Maybe somebody did a survey with

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<v Speaker 1>Nielsen Audio. I don't know, but fine, I'll accept your number.

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<v Speaker 1>If we multiply one twenty five by twelve, by thirteen,

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<v Speaker 1>we would reach nineteen million, five hundred thousand. So if

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<v Speaker 1>the value of Howard Stern at that calculation is a

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen and a half million, then you wouldn't be able

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<v Speaker 1>to pay him one hundred million dollars, but you could

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<v Speaker 1>pay him twenty million dollars. Get the Howard halo effect.

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<v Speaker 1>Do the farewell tour and what you'll get from him

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<v Speaker 1>is twenty million dollars worth of work. So whatever he's

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<v Speaker 1>doing now, you'd get a fifth of that. And in

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<v Speaker 1>the end, we used to joke when I work there,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't actually have to do the show. You just

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<v Speaker 1>need press release to go out. So, as I wrote

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<v Speaker 1>in my sub stack link in the show notes, Howard

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<v Speaker 1>could work. I don't know, fifteen days next year, as

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<v Speaker 1>long as it's the right fifteen days and it's the

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<v Speaker 1>maybe the January Birthday party, the big farewell event. Could

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<v Speaker 1>Howard sell out the Garden once? I think he could.

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<v Speaker 1>If weird al can, I think Howard Stern can. Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you do a big event there. You do a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of farewell things. Paul McCartney comes in, Lady Gaga comes in,

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<v Speaker 1>Tom Hanks comes by. You do fifteen of those. Here's

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<v Speaker 1>twenty million, Howard. That might be enough. No, I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>saying he's gonna do fifteen shows, but maybe he's gonna

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<v Speaker 1>make a little less work a little less. But the

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<v Speaker 1>idea that Howard Stern is just going to come back

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<v Speaker 1>and be like Robin, We've got nine weeks left. It's

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<v Speaker 1>been a great forty years. Zero chance. And that is

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<v Speaker 1>some bonus commentary for today. I'm going to do another

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<v Speaker 1>bonus commentary tomorrow about Mark Marin. I do not intend

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<v Speaker 1>on doing this every single day, but I just had

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<v Speaker 1>two topics on my mind that I wanted to share

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<v Speaker 1>with you back in the morning with a normal episode