Down with the King?

[dj_niceshot]

According to FMQB and All Access, Howard Stern's days could be numbered on the radio:

FMQB has learned that the FCC's Enforcement Bureau is investigating an early February broadcast of The Howard Stern Show. If a Notice of Apparent Liability is issued, it could mean the end of Stern's program until he reappears at Sirius Satellite Radio.

Viacom's new policy: if a NOAL is issued, the talent faces immediate suspension while an investigation is pending.

 

[Bob1370]

> According to FMQB and All Access, Howard Stern's days could
> be numbered on the radio:
>
> FMQB has learned that the FCC's Enforcement Bureau is
> investigating an early February broadcast of The Howard
> Stern Show. If a Notice of Apparent Liability is issued, it
> could mean the end of Stern's program until he reappears at
> Sirius Satellite Radio.
>
> Viacom's new policy: if a NOAL is issued, the talent faces
> immediate suspension while an investigation is pending.


This is exactly what Stern wants...to be liberated from his Infinity contract so
his work at Sirius can begin. Sirius wants it too. And leaving for satellite with one last FCC fine trailing in his wake won't affect him a bit (he won't have to pay it) but sure will give him an extra publicity boost with his target audience for his satellite launch.

And Infinity does NOT want it. It still doesn't have an apparent post-Stern strategy set for mornings on all the stations where it carries Stern (a majority of his lineup). And Stern will still bring in tens of millions of dollars in revenue and profit in the coming five months he has left on his contract. You'd better believe Infinity does not want to lose that, at a time when many of their other FM properties are facing trouble (forget WBUF, their entire New York City cluster is now struggling because of their own recent programming errors).

Infinity is a wounded radio company right now, and needs all the time it can get to build revenue and develop a post-Stern strategy. If Stern goes now, it's chaos for Infinity in a lot of markets at a time when they can ill afford it.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

> And leaving for satellite with one last FCC fine trailing in his
> wake won't affect him a bit (he won't have to pay it) but
> sure will give him an extra publicity boost with his target
> audience for his satellite launch.

Soooooo the better punishment is to not let him be fined, and to ban all publicity stunting?...but how?<P ID="signature">______________
"If you never say NO, How much is your YES worth?"
</P>

 

[Bob1370]

> Soooooo the better punishment is to not let him be fined,
> and to ban all publicity stunting?...but how?
>
You csn't, of course, as long as he avoids the dreaded seven banned cuss words (which he's always been savvy enough to do).

It wouldn't surprise me if the FCC, which moves slowly on these complaints as a routine, doesn't act until after Stern's contract runs out---something which will buy Infinity an extra four months to get its post-Stern act together (although if they've made any progress on that so far, there is no visible sign of it).

 

[Yeziknoradio]

>(although if they've made any progress on that so
> far, there is no visible sign of it).
>
Four letters: S E L L
...this ofcorse only deals with some of the problem with some of Infinity's properties, and respectfully, not all.<P ID="signature">______________
"If you never say NO, How much is your YES worth?"
</P>