Another week, and another big media star is reportedly set to move on. Two weeks ago, Stephen Colbert and CBS announced they would be parting ways. This week, reports surfaced that Howard Stern and his $100 million-per-year contract with Sirius XM would be canceled at the end of this year.
While many jumped on the bandwagon of “Look! Another liberal media star is getting canceled! We got another!” It’s just not that simple. It never is.
The New York Post’s Charlie Gasparino reported that Colbert’s show was on the trajectory of losing more than the $40 million to $50 million it lost last year, and it would have been a prime target for cancellation once the Skydance deal is done, according to his sources.
Meanwhile, Stern’s deal was also bloated based on the fragmented media climate and how much he was working. Insiders said the company has no real expectation that Stern will accept their offer. “Sirius and Stern are never going to meet on the money he is going to want,” one source told The Sun, adding that “it’s no longer worth the investment” to keep paying the reported $100 million-a-year salary.
Both shows were losing money, if not, they would have remained part of a company’s long-term plans. Granted, there are business investments that are wise loss leaders, but do Colbert or Stern fit that mold in 2025? Stern may have been 20 years ago, when then-Sirius Radio was trying to get an advantage over its competition in the satellite radio game. But today? No way.
Joe Rogan, the world’s most popular podcaster, isn’t coming close to Stern’s deal, according to reports. The Joe Rogan Experience became exclusive to Spotify under a 2020 deal, which sources confirmed was worth more than $200 million over 3.5 years.
Plus, Rogan is still in his prime at 57 years old, while Stern, at 71, was only working three days a week. What kind of insane investment would that continue to be going forward for SiriusXM?
Now, to the politics: They certainly didn’t help the cause of either guy. Colbert, while still beating Kimmel and Fallon in the ratings, alienated half the country from ever considering his show, which was supposed to be comedy first, but instead was a preachy, liberal therapy session every night. And Howard Stern’s fluff interviews with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris last year even made Rachel Maddow blush (according to my sources!). Stern’s anti-Trump narrative also did not help his ratings or brand, especially among the everyman who had been drawn to his show for decades.
The Sun insider added, “If Sirius isn’t going to give Stern a good offer, I don’t think it would have anything to do with his ratings. It’s more likely everything to do with the political climate.”
Broadcast outlets are looking for shows with built-in audiences that have a runway to grow and that they can monetize. Whether those shows are comedic in nature, left-leaning, right-leaning, sports-driven, or any other topic of note, is mostly irrelevant.
There’s no question that the political landscape didn’t help Colbert or Stern, but the notion that these shows would have been canceled had they still been profitable is disingenuous. That being said, the culture is changing; an awakening of the “woke” moment that dominated the last half-decade is coming to an end. That part of the story is worth celebrating.
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