Well, where COULD he go? What would be the best fit for him if he wants to emerge from the shadows of limited-distribution satellite to a broader mass audience again? Lots of possibilities each with pluses and minuses...
He could go back to CBS for a new syndication deal. They'd be happy to carry him as morning personality on a lot of their FM properties (they have a couple in NYC alone that could use a format change, WCBS AM/FM and WINS shouldn't be asked to carry the cluster forever) and find no end of stations in non-CBS markets happy to come aboard. Only Dan Mason and Les Moonves know with certainty just what kind of deal would make sense for the company, and only Howard knows if it'd be attractive to him. Would they put him back on 92.3 in New York and build a format around him this time? Or blow up Fresh and turn it into Howard's new home? And would they want to bring O&A on board as the afternoon show on whatever station gets Stern--and perhaps put Don Geronimo (who's still tied to CBS contractually) on in middays either solo or reunited with Mark O'Meara, who's on the beach?
Then there are other possibilities, a lot more "out of the box". Clear Channel might be interested in carrying him in a syndication deal now that the Wall Street folks are in charge, assuming that company survives its current cash flow troubles (we'll know more about that next month). But which one of their stations would carry him in NY? There's no obvious candidate given that each of their NYC properties seems to be performing well--it's arguably the healthiest cluster in the whole company. And none of them is formatically compatible with a show which is clearly the daddy of hot-talk shows.
Citadel might jump if it had the money, and was a sure bet for survival in its current form. But their struggles are bigger and tougher than Clear Channel's, if the WSJ is right they could be in Chapter XI within hours or days after I post this. In a way, though, Citadel's woes could provide a vehicle for him. The Citadel portfolio could be broken up in any reorganization procedure. If that happens, Stern has the front money and could certainly attract the additional backers to help him buy into the business by getting some of the Citadel stations now at a big discount--and then ride the recovery curve as a group owner. He'd then put himself on some key stations in the portfolio. IIRC Imus' deal with WABC ends in either 2010 or 2011, at which time he'll be 70. It's easy to see Stern replacing him on WABC and a fleet of stations across the country...and if Stern were managing partner in the whole operation, no one could fire or suspend him, but him.
There are certainly other scenarios for Stern's future. He can't be thinking seriously about retirement (he'll only be 56 when his contract runs out) although there are some folks, mostly his critics, who think he's past it and should pack it in. He could very well hang in there just to try to prove them wrong. The current regulatory environment is a lot more lenient than the Bush years, so he'd be able to get away with a lot more in broadcast radio while still dealing with the creative tension battling the rulemakers that made for some of his best radio.
Of course he could decide to concentrate on cable TV programming, where he's had success and faces fewer content restrictions...but radio is his #1 game...
Anyone got thoughts on the likely future path of the King of All Media?
