Howard Stern Officially Jumps The Shark

Mark your calendar kids because Howard Stern Jumped The Shark in my eyes today. This is coming from a long time devoted fan, ever since I first saw the channel 9 show back in middle school and was taping shows on cassette from his first night on air back in 1992-93.

The actions of Sirius Satellite Radio corporate in conjunction with Stern himself regarding the resigning of Bubba The love Sponge to a deal that essentially replays Bubba's censored morning syndicated terrestrial radio show in the afternoon to paying Sirius subscribers is a slap on the face on so many levels.

For two stations that have a battle cry of "No More Bullshit" this deal and Howard's absolute silence reek of a shit sandwich served up hot to the customers. Hampton's Howie has been castrated by Beth O. and no longer has any balls to talk freely and openly with his listeners. When Bubba resigned on December 19th it was heralded with much fanfare, phone calls from Howard, Tim Sabean and Scott Greenstein calling Bubba on air and telling him how happy they were to have him on board for another two years. No mention was made of the fact that Bubba would no longer be doing an uncensored show exclusively for Sirius, but that Sirius would be airing a censored FM morning drive show!! On Howard 101!!! Is that something that Howard Stern would allow if he gave two shits about his paying fans? I highly doubt it.

Sirius offices were flooded with calls and emails from the Bubba Army in December showing support and love for a show that many including me knew nothing about 3 years ago, but has in fact been funnier than Howard over the past three years. On December 19th they announced a deal had been made and Bubba had signed on for another year. This stopped subscribers from canceling en masse and protected SIRI year end numbers.

This morning Howard goes on air and does a full 5 hour show, complete with a missing Artie Lange due to a stint at a rehab/wellness center and nary a word is spoken from Howard giving the fans a heads up that Bubba's show would now be a rebroadcast Monday thru thursday with only a live show on Friday. No More Bullshit my ass Mr. Stern, this move is total and utter bullshit! As a fan for almost half my life the actions of Howard and Sirius in general are really beyond belief. I can not believe that a company would treat their paying customers in such a manner.

I travel 100 miles round trip a day to work and without Sirius the only thing to listen to would be WEEI, but being treated in such a way makes me want to cancel just out of spite.

People are ripping Bubba, Stern and SIRI on all their respective message boards, Bubba even had the courtesy to post on his message board and effectively blame Sirius corporate. He stated he did not want to make this deal, he wanted to do a live SIRI exclusive show from 10am-2pm but SIRI wanted to keep him in the 3-7 slot and the replay was the only answer. He knew the fans would take a shot on the deal, but he had been disrespected by SIRI corporate long enough, which is the truth.

Bubba should have kept his dignity and told SIRI thanks but no thanks and SIRI should have found a replacement in order to give the fans the live show that they pay for.... This shitstorm is far from over and more details will be coming.

Artie Rehab Confirmed....

After a Howard 100 news not really clarifying things today in their updates Artie's publicist has confirmed that Artie has in fact checked himself into an "outpatient rehab facility".

If you listen to Stern and know Artie I think it is safe to assume that outpatient rehab won't cure Artie's demons. The story does take another minor twist as I did see it mentioned on SFN and the Perez Hilton comments that Artie was seen in Vegas this weekend with Dana. Could it be that Dana and Artie went to Vegas and got hitched over vacation and she mandated that he enter a treatment program to clean up his act?? We know that she has help rehab over his head in the past. That would be a twist to this story that would make things really interesting to say the least.

Regardless tune in at 6am Monday for the details.

Artie Lange Relapse???

Well The Stern Show is on vacation this week, but this morning Howard 100 News reported that Artie Lange was a no show in LA over the weekend for the Bob Saget roast.

This evening Bob Levy's wife has posted on Stern Fan Network that Artie has canceled his gigs for this upcoming weekend, which would be a gig for Levy in PA and a weekend gig at the new MGM Grand at Foxwoods in CT.

Either he is holed up at the shore house with Spitzer's hooker Ashley Dupre, or he is back on the shit. If he is abusing heroin and other drugs again at least he seems to be taking steps to get some help..... Let's see what the announcement is tomorrow.

Stern Show Middle East Adventures

Well it seems the Gary "Baba Booey" Dell'Abate may end up wishing that he did not join Artie Lange and company in Afghanistan as part of the USO Tour after all.

Earlier this week a link was posted on Stern Fan Network which went to an Artie Lange fan message board. Basically there was a posting from a soldier who met the boys in Afghanistan and came away with the impression that Gary was a bit on the dickie side of things. The soldier did understand that the guys were tired and out of their element but it seems that his few minutes with Gary could have been a bit better.

I will admit the soldier erred in asking them to sign a Jim Norton book,and Gary gave him a little grief for that. The soldier, who is still in Afganastan then began posting on SFN including a personal email he sent to Gary regarding the incident as well as Gary's response.

Earlier Gary established his own SFN account and posted his side of the story, complete with misspellings as only Bababooey can. Thank goodness we can get back to a live show on Monday!


Soldier's Original Post
SFN Thread


Email from soldier to Gary and Gary's Response:
Gary,

Hey man, how is it going? Glad you are home safe. I met you at FOB Lindsey and I
wanted to let you know I wrote a story of the trip on Artie's website.


I really appreciated you guys coming here and I hope you come again. But just so you
know. I did mention that when we spoke, you came off like I was bothering you and
that is in the story. I also mentioned the Jim Norton book i asked you guys to sign
and how you said something about Opie and Anthony like I had offended you. If I did,
I apologize. We do not know who is coming until just days prior, there would be no
way to get a Howard Stern product for you guys to sign. Apparently, that has taken
off on the SFN as you refusing to sign the book at all. I tried to post a reply and
tell them that you did sign but I have to wait to be approved for posting. I also
mentioned that you guys were probably very tired and that you may have been
coordinating things for the guys.

Anyways, they are relentless over there and i thought I would give you a heads up.
Although I do feel disappointed in our verbal exchange, I really do appreciate the
visit.


SSG T


FROM GARY:


I was actually having some major issues that night and I was on the phone
calling home trying to get some things worked out.
There was an article about us coming under mortar fire that was in the
paper and some of my family got pretty upset by it even though it was
nothing.

Even people you hear on the radio have everyday problems to deal with

I was also pretty tired and not at all offended by the O & A thing.
I signed hundreds of pictures and spent every moment I had talking to
soldiers or just hanging. I was as accessible as one man could be.
I am little bummed out that you felt I was not being gracious enough since
that's what I came to do.

All the best.

Gary Dell'Abate
Producer
Howard Stern Show
Sirius Satellite Radio
1221 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
212-584-5330

Gary's post on SFN about the ordeal:
Thisis Gary Dell'Abate from the Howard Stern Show.
Mutt helped me get a password and get on here.

I feel I have to respond to the e-mails that have beem posted by the soldier I met in Afghanistand.
In short order, here are the facts:

*I met him that night and was very gracious

*He asked me to sign a Jim Norton book and I made am observaton. I said, "Oh isn't that the guy from O& A. It was an observation, a comment...anything more he took from that is in his head

*I signed the book

*He asked me when Artie was goind to re sign and I told him we were all on board for 5 years. I was not snotty or arrogant. Anything else he took from this was in his own head.

*The gang was all inside in a little library area.I was outside, on the phone with my wife explaining the article that I heard might be in the news about us coming under mortar fire. I did not want her and my kids to read this without talking to me first. I assured her we were ok and calmed everyone down.While I was on the phone, someone came over to say hi and I shook their hand and said hi,
I then went inside and hung out for another 10 minutes. I signed about 25 pictures.

We then left.

Artie, Jimmy, Nick, Dave & I spent every moment we had hanging with the troops when we were not performing. We had breakfast , lunch & dinner with the troops. We drank with the troops.
We spent the entire day touring various facilities and just hanging around.
I thought we did a great job.

It appalls me that someone could take a great thing and try and turn it into his own little personal crusade.
We gave up our vacation, and I left my wife and kids for a week to volunteer our time.
I get it....the soldiers are putting there life on the line for us.
We saw that every day. I am in no way comparing myself to what they do.They are amazing.
But we did volunteer to go.

I can't imagine what kind of person would opt to piss all over that.
I also can't imagine the charachter of someone who would post personal e-mails without asking.

Thanks for the time,
Gary

Bubba The Love Sponge's Unsigned Band Review & Podcast Willy

Since Worcester has plenty of unsigned bands as well as some podcasts I thought this would be some good information to throw out there to my local readers.

Bubba The Love Sponge and his crew are the afternoon drive radio show on Howard 101 on Sirius Satellite Radio and they also do a live morning show on terrestrial radio that is syndicated on Florida radio stations. I had never listened to Bubba prior to him joining Howard Stern on Sirius, but in the past two and a half years I have become a big fan of Bubba and the gang. Their sensibilities are wilder and crazier than even Howard's and Bubba's show has seemed to pick up the torch of the everyman, now that Stern has more money than God.

The Bubba show has been featuring the unsigned band review for about a year or so. Once a week they feature two different unsigned bands and listen to two tracks off of a cd. After each song they go around the room and basically give the track a thumbs up or thumbs down. More bands fail than pass, but even if you fail you get some Carson's Ribs for your trouble.

In the Podcast Willy segment the crew listens to a submitted podcast and critiques it from a radio professionals point of view. They have only been doing this bit for a few weeks and the couple podcasts I have heard have been lackluster at best but the bits have been funny.

It would be pretty cool if some of Worcester's finest submitted their material here.


Unsigned Band Review
Podcast Willy

Artie Lange Is Still On The Stern Show

So even though I have the day off today I had the alarm set for 5:53 just like usual so I could turn on the Sirius internet stream at 6am to see what happened with Artie and the Stern Show. The show is back from vacation and this morning we will find out if Artie is still with the show.

Much to my surprise Artie is in fact in the studio and will still be with the show. Howard teased the audience for a few minutes taking phone calls before announcing that Artie was in studio and still with the show.

Below are some snippets from the statement that Artie made at the top of the show:

"I'm sorry, very very very sorry. It's all my fault.... This week I have been overwhelmed by how nice people treated me....Ii got calls from everyone on the staff, I really feel as if I am part of a family....I apologize to the fans....I fucked up in a major way...The show is the most important thing in my life and is probably the only thing keeping me alive. Teddy is a good kid, he is not a thief or stealing money from me, it's just something I said in the moment...More emotion then I have ever felt in my life...From the time I hugged you and went down to the elevator I was in an emotional blackout...This is teh greatest reality show out there... Now that time as passed absolutely you have my permission to play it both on tv and radio... The fans are like my extended family. People are paying for a service I don't want them to think, well shit they are editing stuff... I want you to air it and have people see it.

Artie has spoken with Teddy on the phone and basically said that he did nothing wrong and wants them to both put everything behind them. Told Teddy not to quit his job at Sirius over this...

Howard's thoughts on canceling the replay:

I wanted to do the right thing in this situation...Part of me thinks I should follow this guys, I didn't know if he was going to kill someone or somebody...God forbid if we replay this and it drives him nuts that this all happens. I was generally concerned for you....I thought the audience would understand... I quickly told Tim I don't want to replay this... I did not want Artie to be further distressed. I was afraid you might hurt yourself.

AMSTERDAM:

I saw Teddy and made contact when we were getting on the plane, it was too soon to make conversation... I got to Amsterdam and pulled up to my hotel and two American guys tell me "You fucked up this morning, man." I didn't see Teddy the whole trip. I just stayed to myself....It's such a beautiful city. I didn't do any of the "H's" I love heroin or hookers. These whores are in little lockers....Some of them were old, like Gramdmothers with tits hanging to their knees. I walked around the red light district but did not partake in anything.... I smoked a joint, it was fantastic weed I guess, I took three puffs and I was beautiful. The capital of the wold for pancakes, they are big and light and fluffy...There is a big Dutch woman making them for you, so full of butter. After smoking weed like that and then walking it off and eating some pancakes is fantastic. Syrup was dripping and I was so happy.

Hopefully now that Artie is back he will realize how truly important the show is in his life and to his career and in turn will focus on the show a bit more. A little less sleeping and sugar coma and a little more funny. Riley Martin also just called in and announced he has signed a 6 month contract extension.

Eric The Midget And Kendra Meet In Real Life

***UPDATE January 7, 2009***

Check this link for the pics of Eric The Midget with Air Force Amy at The Bunny Ranch.


Eric The Midget Naked at The Bunny Ranch




Breaking News 9/2/08-
SEE THE LINK BELOW FOR PICTURES OF ERIC THE MIDGET AT STRIPPERS AND HUSTLERS BALL!!


Brand New Eric Pictures





News always seems to break when Howard Stern takes a week vacation. Whether it is the death of a celebrity, a big national news story or something major involving the wack pack for some reason when Howard is not on the airwaves there is always something that I would like to hear his two cents on.

This past week Howard 100 news has reported on and I have seen the actual proof of Stern Fan Network that the whole Kendra Secrets and Eric The Midget relationship was a scam initiated by Johnny Fratto in order to get airtime on The Show and get Kendra plugs. No surprise there... It is plain to see to any long time Stern Fan that Howard has a soft spot for Eric and he is radio gold whereas Howard really can't be bothered with Fratto. Therefore Fratto stepped in and created the jsfc and props ETM in front a webcam 24/7 and advertises his business on the website and on The Stern Show.

Well since the news and documents leaked about the whole thing being a frame job Fratto had to step up his game and get Eric and Kendra together pronto in order to try to quell the rumors. They want us to think that this girl with a soft core porn website is really dating a 3 foot midget. Talk about suspending ones disbelief.

Anyway it is obvious the whole relationship is a sham, but Fratto flew Eric and Kendra out to LA and put them on cam from his house for the world to see.... The pics are too priceless to pass up, so enjoy!

Rachel Bilson Proclaimed Sexiest Woman In Hollywood By Howard Stern

As soon as I jumped in my car this morning at 6:30 and emerged from the garage I heard Howard Stern ready to bestow the title of "Sexiest Woman In Hollywood" on a new actress. Now I have been listening to Stern for over 15 years and sometimes I can totally guess where he is going to go with something before he even says it. Bilson on the cover of GQ caught my eye this weekend as I was walking thru the supermarket, she was always the hottest female on The O.C. in my opinion.

After seeing that Bilson was on the cover of GQ I had a sneaky suspicion that Howard was going to name her his flavor of the week. As soon as the thought popped into my head Howard mentioned seeing her in the new issue of GQ and named her one of his new Hollywood favorites. I won't fault him for fumbling a bit stating that she starred in "Dawson's Creek" and was the girlfriend of "Pacey" since the only difference between Dawson's Creek and The OC is about 5 years and the coast that the show supposedly took place in.

I also saw th preview for Bilson's new movie The Jumper, which opens on Valentine's Day and seems to be a decent looking thriller. Check out the preview below.


The Jumper Movie

Howard Stern The Camp Wel-Met Days

In honor of The History of Howard Stern being played this week on Howard 100.

Today was the first day of The History of Howard Stern on Howard 100. Most of the bits played so far I have heard before, but I thought that the presentation "The Tapes Team" put together was pretty tight.

Today's episode took us from Howard's birth, through his days spent at Boston University, with stories of his summer days at Camp Wel Met as a camper, a dish boy and finally a counselor. Plenty of old tape that featured Howard telling stories to the gang through the years intermixed with interviews from his old friends such as Doctor Lou and others.

Of course it is not as fresh as a live show, but every hundredmillionaire needs three weeks of for Christmukkah, so I'll take The History Of Howard Stern as a worthy substitute and a nice retrospective of the King Of All Media's career.


More Howard Camp Wel Met Pics
History Of Howard Stern on Sirius

This pic had me laughing!!!

Check out this picture of the Howard Stern with Beth O. and youngest daughter Ashley and her friend at the Knicks game the other night.

Cast this kid in Howard Stern The High School Years, he's dead ringer!

Bubba The Love Sponge Renews With Sirius...

This morning on The Howard Stern Radio Show on Sirius Bubba The Love Sponge flew in from the swamps of Tampa Bay to formally announce that he has signed a 1 year deal that will keep his show in the 3 to 7 afternoon drive slot on Howard 101.

The way Bubba and crew were working the fans the past month it looked as if this deal might not get done and Bubba would be headed back to terrestrial radio or take the show to podcast willie. Well, that is about half true as it was also announced later in the morning that The Bubba The Love Sponge show will also take over the morning drive slot on his hometown 102.5 The Bone as well as 104.5 in Jacksonville.

Bubba and crew had their syndicated show which was based out of Tampa dropped from the air in 203 when the FCC levied them with the largest one time fine in broadcast history.

As a listener to Bubba since he joined Sirius I can certainly tell that he has an affinity for the Tampa radio market and there is also a certain morning radio personality in Tampa that Bubba would love to knock off of their reigning #1 ratings spot.

It seemed that Sirius was putting up all kinds of roadblocks regarding Bubba's resigning, but over the weekend the King Of All Media intervened and got the deal complete.

I think it is a good deal all around and should not detract from the Sirius show all that much. It as not as if it is a watered down simulcast with terrestrial radio, instead they are two separate shows. Obviously there will be a fair amount of overlap and some topics may not seem as fresh in the afternoon, but the morning show, coupled with the long days are sure to bring more cheap heat and drama to the afternoon show as well.

I'm happy Bubba is back with Sirius for another year, the show is a nice companion to my evening drive home.


BTLS Home Page
Tampa Bay News Blog

Time To Renew Sirius.....

My Sirius subscription will be up at the end of the month. It is a no brainer that I will be renewing. I just don't know if I should pick up a new receiver and just activate the new radio with the new subscription. The Starmate I have have had for the past two years has worked without any issues and I am in the car for at least 3 hours a day just to and from work. But they certainly aren't the most durable of things and I see that I can get a Starmate 4 or Sportster 4 for $49.99.

I probably shouldn't pick up the new one but I'm just worried that the one I have now might not make it thru a cold New England winter.

Happy 40th Birthday Artie Lange!

Everyone's favorite baby gorilla turns 40 years old today!

Here's to you Artie Lange, so sorry that the Yankee's were eliminated from the playoffs before your birthday even rolled around this year. Today you can indulge guilt free and have that extra cupcake, Linden's Chocolate Chippers, Hawaiian Punch or Carmel Macchiato and Hershey and peanut butter. Heck you only turn 40 once!

And at the rate you are going who knows how many birthdays you have left!

Salud!

Gary Dell'Abate's New CT Crib

**UPDATE 1/29/09**

This post is originally from April of 2007 when I first linked to pics of Gary Dell'Abate's new house pictures from Sound & Vision magazine. Well the house has been completed for a while and as you all know Howard and the gang have spent a whole lot of time over the past two mornings giving Gary a hard time about the setup in his home theater. Howard has been brutally criticizing Bababooey's decision to include a bar and 3 barstools at the back of the room instead of another row of recliners.

The internet has been abuzz looking for pictures of Gary's house and screening room and this post that I wrote over a year and a half ago has received more than 3,500 hits today!! So for your pleasure I have edited this post to include new and updated pics of Gary Dell'Abate's home theater or screening room and the offending barstools!

Enjoy!

You may have heard Bababooey mention that he was building a new house over the past 6 months ago. Well someone at SFN just posted a link to this article about Gary, his new house, his tech setup and his collection of vintage radios. They didn't mention is cartoon art collection though!

Anyway it is a pretty big article that I found rather interesting and it includes a slideshow of pics from inside the house.


Gary In Sound & Vision

Sal Governale Falls Off Stage with Artie Lange in Lakeland FL

Check it out 16 seconds in Sal The Stockbroker falls off stage while doing The Bababooey Dance!

Killers Of Comedy Tour Boston, MA The Roxy

So last night Ms. C. and I went out to The Roxy to see The Killers of Comedy kickoff their U.S. Tour. I think they had the right idea in using Boston as their starting point.

I will say they have come a long way. The last time I saw Rev. Bob Levy and crew was about a year and a half ago when they performed at a Chinese Resturant about 20 miles south of Boston. Well things change, as they kicked off their tour at The Roxy one of Boston's best known hotspots, right in the heart of the Theater District on Tremont St. I hope Richard and Sal didn't spend too much time across the street at the Wang Center!
So to those who say that Stern is no longer relevant or has lost his clout because of the move to satellite I wonder how you would explain the fact that The Killers are embarking on their largest and sure to be most successful tour ever, when most of the promotion is taking place on Sirius??

Anyway on to the show!!

The show was opened up by Brockton's very own Grover, who has been providing The Show with his very own weekly wrap up raps the past few months. He had a rhyme that he put together in honor of the comedy show and then gave the world premiere of this week's wrap up rap. It was a great way to open the show and got the crowd amped up for things to come.

Shuli was the emcee of the night and kicked things off wearing his mustard yellow Howard100 news jacket, before switching it up to his very own "I Hate Ralph" tshirt. I knew that Shuli was working on his comedy skills in Las Vegas before being hired on by the show and he worked the stage and the audience like a seasoned pro. A bunch of good jokes with tons of spot on Elegant Elliot Offen imitations mixed in. RIGHT!!!

Richard Christy always gets cracked on about his stand up not being all that, but he was funnier than I expected. He had a decent 10 minutes worth of material, filled with gay jokes and double entendre about Sal and himself and a nice finisher about Russian Roulette masterbation. Sall The Stockbroker came out and was high energy. I think he was just happy to be away from his wife and kids for the weekend. He had my sides aching as he came out with tons of dirty and straight up racist and non pc jokes. But what else would you expect from Sal Governale? Jim Florentine's set was a bit shaky. He has been better at other events I have seen him at in the past, although he did have some great observations about drunk driving and did some Special Ed from Crank Yankers.

Reverend Bob then sealed the deal and brought the house down, drinking straight vodka and chugging beers while cracking on the one black guy who was standing up front. After that he tried to get these two lesbians onstage to eat each other out to no avail. He did get a hottie onstage for his famed Bleu Cheese dressing bit and then kept his unbelievably comedy coming at everyone in attendance. It was then time for Bob to bring out Beelejuice for the Q&A portion of the night. "Beetlejuice spell RED!" "L-E-S-T-E-R" Classic Bettle, he roamed the stage swearing at everyone and being pretty much utterly unintelligable.

They then announced they had a special guest that they wanted to bring out.... Who could it be? None other than Bigfoot it is! The gentle giant made his way down from Vermont in search of some happy smoke it was and the crowd went crazy at the mere sight of him!!

The best part of the night was yet to come as some of the people over at SternFanNetwork really came together to rent out a private room at The Caprice Lounge which was right next door from The Roxy. We had our own private room upstairs with our own bar. The place was packed to the gills as I got to meet some people from SFN for the first time. It was like Stern Show nirvana hanging out in an intimate environment with the likes of Rev. Bob, Richard Christy, Beetle, High Pitch Eric, Joey Boots and Grover. Tons of drinking going on, everyone taking pictures and having one hell of a time.

If The Killers of Comedy tour hits your area be sure to come out and show your support!!! The show is 4rilla approved!!!


Killers of Comedy
Re. Bob Levy
Shuli's Jew Gone Wild
Jim Florentine
Grover
Jolly Dwarf

Stern being Slandered???

Alexa Stats:

Sirius versus XM


Alexa stats:

Howard Stern.com versus Opie and Anthony.com


I thought it was about time to give my .02 regarding the recent Howard Stern to terrestrial radio bru-ha-ha that has erupted this past week. As it has been said in the past, I'm a hardcore listener from his first night in Boston back around 1990, I'm also a SIRI stockholder (I bought before Howard even signed on as that was my hunch on where he was going), Member of SternFanNetwork since '01, and I listen to the whole show daily, the wrap up show also etc, and then switch to Bubba at 3pm. So I do get my moneys worth out of Sirius and I'm a huge fan.

So with that said, I'm drinking the Kool-Aid, but I can totally understand where Howard is coming from regarding this whole Inside Radio/ NY Post "story" about Howard Stern returning to the regular FM airwaves via a hookup with Citadel Broadcasting. There was an article from Hitwise that was linked by James Altucher of www.thestreet.com a couple weeks back. I was going to call shenanigans on the numbers quoted by Hitwise when it was initally posted on 9/8, but I never got around to it. I send myself links and ideas home daily from work, but I will freely admit that alot of that stuff falls by the wayside since I don't update daily.

But I guess I am getting off topic. Basically like a bad phone call from Captain Janks television news shows show they will pick up any old story and run with it with little information. This morning Howard played clips of many of the cable tv talking heads quoting the Inside Radio/ NY Post piece basically insinuating that Howard has been crashing and burning at Sirius, that he hasen't brought over as many subs as expected, andthat he has been "unhappy" as of late. The news was quoting the phantom numbers from Hitwise that Howard's search results were down over 91% and plenty of other misinformation.

Well it has since come to light that John Manelli the author of the NY Post article is also an FM radio consultant. Hmmmm, would an FM radio consultant have any reason to spread rumors that Howard Stern is heading back to regular radio? Trying to start a campaign through the holiday season. "No need to buy Sirius, Howard is coming to FM". Just because FREE-FM had to pick up Opie and Anthony and dilute the exclusivity that Opie And Anthony had certainly does not mean that the same would be done by Stern. There is one big factor in the equation. There are MILLIONS of people who are willing to pay $12.95 a month for Stern. This is a proven fact. The same can not be said for O&A. So bedfellows Clear Channel and XM forged a deal that brought the unfunny duo of O&A back over the airwaves.

Below is a chart from google trends that shows Stern's stats for the past 3 years. I don't see this extreme drop that was mentioned all over the news.

And I have linked below a post from Yahoo buzz that states, "Howard's dip in searches was nowhere near as precipitous as sited in the Post, and he still holds the crown in influencing buzz, he outranks all radio performers in search"

  Stern Yahoo Buzz