After nearly 20 years on SiriusXM, The Howard Stern Show may be coming to an end. According to a report, the satellite radio company doesn’t plan to renew Stern’s contract when it expires later this year.
Stern’s potential exit isn’t just about money, it’s about relevance. Once the voice of the working-class outsider, Stern alienated much of his original audience by embracing mainstream politics and Hollywood elites, making it about the agenda instead of good content.
His open support for Hillary Clinton, attacks on Trump supporters, and shift to sanitized interviews and “woke” commentary have fractured his listener base. For many longtime fans, the shock jock became the sellout he used to mock, losing the cultural grip that once made him untouchable.
What happened? SiriusXM Ready To Move On
Insiders told The Sun that SiriusXM may make an offer to retain Stern’s back catalog, but not to continue the show:
“Stern’s contract is up in the fall and while Sirius is planning to make him an offer, they don’t intend for him to take it.”
“Sirius and Stern are never going to meet on the money he is going to want. It’s no longer worth the investment.”
Another source claimed Stern’s political leanings may have alienated listeners and executives alike:
“It’s more likely everything to do with the political climate.”
Trump Responds: “He Went Down When He Endorsed Hillary”
Donald Trump was asked about Stern during a press conference this week and didn’t hold back. Via The Daily Mail:
“Howard Stern is a name I haven’t heard — I used to do his show, we used to have fun — but I haven’t heard that name in a long time. What happened, he got terminated?”
Trump then pointed to a turning point in Stern’s career:
“You know when he went down? When he endorsed Hillary Clinton, he lost his audience. People said, ‘Get me a break.’ He went down when he endorsed Hillary Clinton.”
Stern has also hosted Vice President Kamala Harris on his show, drawing criticism from Republicans.
Stern Says He’ll Be Back—But Avoids the Topic
Stern didn’t directly address The Sun’s report on his SiriusXM status, but during Wednesday’s surprise episode, he made it clear he’s not gone yet. Via the Daily Beast:
“We will be back though, very soon. We’ll be back on the air, live. I’ve been refueling, so to speak.”
He also reminded listeners that he’s always off during the summer and plans to return after Labor Day.
According to the Daily Mail, Stern first learned about the report through a Google alert and only spoke about it with Jimmy Kimmel in a private call. The surprise episode reportedly followed a staff “team building” event in New York.
How Stern Alienated His Audience and Sold Out
Commentators like Chris Gore and Nerdrotic—both former diehard fans—blame Stern’s downfall on his shift toward mainstream politics and celebrity appeasement.
Chris Gore (Film Threat):
“Howard Stern stood up for working people. He connected with his audience. Then he became part of the system.
He did blackface jokes on his old local show in New York. He did every raunchy… He made fun of gay and transgender people. Current day him is the complete opposite. He sold out to the mainstream, but COVID changed him.”
Gore said he used to pay for Stern’s raunchy specials like Butt Bongo Fiesta and New Year’s Rotten Eve, but the current version of Stern would never create anything like that:
“He was little by little changing because he got more fame, got bigger guest bookings, whatever, he was changing, but after COVID, I couldn’t listen. I couldn’t listen. He fundamentally changed as a person. I don’t know anyone who listens to him anymore.”
Gary Buechler (Nerdrotic):
“Over a decade, when the video got out of him, kind of doing that staff meeting, and we learned later on they did not want to do comedy skits anymore. They wanted to get more big guests, and also creating fake Twitter accounts, he got busted doing that, too.”
“It’s pretty much everybody lays it on his second wife, Beth Ostrosky. She kind of started running the show and wanted to make it mainstream and cucked him.”
Buechler recalled when Empire Strikes Back “stomped” Private Parts in theaters and Stern “went off on” George Lucas and Star Wars fans out of spite:
“That’s the first time I actually got mad at him. I’m like, ‘F-ck you, dude’ … I think he just wanted to be part of the club. I don’t know how you turn a leaf that quick from what he did. He also got paid. He’s got enough money. He can retire tomorrow. He doesn’t need any money. He’s got a giant house. He’s part of the club.”
“But he wanted to be accepted by celebrities. So, all those working people he supposedly had the back of, they didn’t give a sh-t about you. Never did.”
The End of the Shock Jock Era?
Stern rose to fame in the ’80s and ’90s for pushing the envelope and tearing down the establishment. But after decades on air and a shift in tone, reports say his show is no longer seen as a worthwhile investment by SiriusXM.
His fall from grace—from throwing bologna at strippers to cozying up to politicians and Hollywood—has left former fans calling it a betrayal.
