Howard Stern Marks Anniversary, Earns Subscriber Growth Incentive

It has officially been a whole year since Howard Stern made his Sirius Satellite Radio debut, and the King Of All Media will not let the anniversary go unnoticed. Following the live Howard Stern Show on January 9, Stern will mark the occasion with a rebroadcast of his debut from January 9, 2006. In addition, he will broadcast the Best of 2006 Top 10 Countdown Special, which replays the best moments of the year as voted on by fans. The anniversary celebration will continue throughout the weekend with replays of the 1/9/07 show, the 1/9/06 show, and the Best of the 2006 Top Ten Countdown Special on Saturday, January 13 and Sunday, January 14.

"It's been a great year and the show is better than ever," commented Stern. "We've delivered on the promise of satellite radio; I can do whatever I want and say whatever I want.

"Sirius President of Entertainment and Sports Scott Greenstein added, “Howard Stern is the preeminent radio personality of our times. Sirius has given Howard the freedom and platform to do what he does best – uncensored, unrestricted, unbelievable radio. Howard’s first year on Sirius has been an unprecedented success and we eagerly look forward to the future.”

In related news, Sirius also announced that it exceeded its pre-Howard Stern subscriber estimates for the year ended 2006 by over two million subscribers. This means that Stern earned a bonus of $82.9 million in stocks for surpassing subscriber goals set in his 2004 contract. Sirius had roughly 600,000 subscribers when it signed Stern in 2004 and the company ended 2006 with approximately 6,024,000 subscribers. The deal with Stern provides for additional stock-based performance bonuses if the company exceeds an escalating set of subscriber targets.

"The decision to bring Howard Stern to Sirius required a very significant commitment and we are very pleased that our investment has dramatically paid off," said CEO Mel Karmazin. "Sirius has significantly outperformed earlier subscriber expectations, now generating over $300 million more revenue than Wall Street expected at the time Howard agreed to join us. Our exceptional programming, product offerings, and brand have led Sirius to set a satellite radio record in 2006 with 2.7 million net subscriber additions."

Well I think the numbers really speak for themselves don't they....