Does Howard Stern Want a Bite Out of Apple?
Last week Sirius XM finally launched an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The app made big news in a couple of ways. First, the fact that Howard Stern was not available on the app was the major attention getter. The other newsworthy item is that despite Stern’s absence, the app has enjoyed a huge number of downloads, and quickly became one of the most popular apps to hit the market.
With all of the excitement, news, and reviews, there is still one question on the minds of many. Why isn’t Howard Stern available. Speculation ran wild, and calls to Sirius XM were met with an overall silence with regard to the issue. Some felt that Sirius XM was holding back, others felt that there was a potential worry about bandwidth on AT&T’s network, and still others thought the issue may revolve around Stern wanting more money.
While any official confirmation has not been made, there are several indicators that would point to the fact that Stern is a central part in this issue.
1. The general lack of discussion of any kind regarding the app coming from the Howard Stern Show.
2. Indicators on Gary Dell’Abate’s Twitter page that indicate possible rights issues. Note, the page appears to be Dell’abate’s, but verification could not be made prior to publishing. Note: It has since be verified to be fake.
3. Sirius XM taking on a virtual silence, which would indicate that the issue is in some form of negotiation.
It would appear that the Stern contract, which likely has many stipulations, must have some clause dealing with “mobile media”, and the potential of third party operations. In short, there are various aspects of the app that may trigger a “no-go” for Stern inclusion unless the parties sit down at the table and negotiate. Such possibilities include, conflicts with In-Demand, mobile media exclusions and inclusions, or perhaps even something specific to Apple.
Now, before everyone starts talking about all of the money Stern already has, and labeling him as money hungry (which he actually is), we need to step back and understand the dynamics at play. If Stern, or his agent, was smart enough to see the potential moving forward, than I take my hat off to them. However, in this case, it is quite possible that Stern is biting the hand that feeds him, and his actions have squandered the possible exposure associated with the launch of the iPhone app.
To be fair to Stern, there is no way to know exactly where things stand. His possible demands could be very simple and doable, and if that is the case, shame on Sirius XM. Karmazin is known as a cost cutter, and perhaps the parties simply came to an impasse as time ran out for the launch of the app. The launch date would have been the leverage Stern had, and with that now gone, perhaps more realistic negotiations can happen moving forward.
Sirius XM can never recoup the lost exposure they would have had if Stern was part of the app. Let’s hope that the financial decision made was worth it, and the parties can hammer out the details moving forward.
Thanks Mike!
Position: Long Sirius XM, No Position Apple.
One thing missing from this article is the posibility that SiriusXM and Howard are on the same page. I believe that it’s a strong posibility that they are going to leverage Howard for an exclusive deal with other mobile carriers (Blackberry, Apple, etc.). It would be worth millions.
See the web site below. Stern himself says it is a “rights thing”, a contract entanglement. And that maybe he could be on soon. All the naysayers putting the blame on Sirius should reconsider their thinking. It is obviously all about the money.
Maybe Sirius could offer this as some type of premium service so those that want can pay for while the rest of us can just enjoy the music. And news. And POTUS. And Book Radio. Etc.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/20.....l-be-on-i/
A caller called in today about the app and Howard said, “it was a contractual rights thing”. He also stated that maybe one day they’ll be on it.
I think we are definately seeing that Hardware costs have been a hinderence to the sxm subscriber, hopefully this app allows people who couldn’t afford a radio (on top of the iphone they already had) to enjoy the content giant that is SIRIUS XM.
Go sirius xm, shake that thing.
1. The general lack of discussion of any kind regarding the app coming from the Howard Stern Show.
If anyone was listening to the show last Monday, they may have heard Stern and co. actually having a discussion about the plethora of iphone apps on the market and he STILL did not even mention the SirisXM iphone app. So it does definitely seem that he was intentionally not making mention of it on the air due to some type of contractual issue.
what I don’t quite get is why the dailyfinance article says Stern DID talk about the issue on the air today and the siriusbuzz article claims the opposite. I haven’t heard the Stern show today, so I don’t know if he did or didn’t
Stern is so anti-Jay Leno because Leno does not hold out for the last dollar all the time. He is jealus that Oprah makes 5 times what he does. I fully expect him to ask for double his current contract. I expect Mel to pass.
If Gary Dell’Abate’s explanation of the lack of Stern on the iPhone via Twitter based on In-Demand contract issues is true, then I can understand why it’s not on the iPhone App yet. However, if the lack of Howard on the Sirius XM iPhone App is based on a contract issue with the Stern Show itself, then I’m confused. What precedent is out there that differentiates between internet accessed via a computer, and internet accessed via an iPhone? If Stern is available on Sirius Internet Radio, he should be on the iPhone as well.
I am in the 7 day trail period of the Sirius XM iPhone App. There are two things wrong with the app, it can’t play in the back round while using another app and no Howard. If they can get these things worked out, they have a killer app. I don’t know if I will pay the upgrade as of yet, I will wait and see.
All third party iphone app run in the foreground. Only Apple can run apps in the background, unless you Jailbreak, but then you are giving up some speed and reliability.
I have noticed with the SiriusXM app is it does not auto-play correctly everytime.
The pause button is really a stop stream button. Pressing play has crashed on my a few times.
The Artist/Song data often gets truncated with the graphics icon, play/”pause” button and expand button all in the same row. For not having any extras such as Album Art or Lyrics, The player’s face is sure cramped. You’d think there would be plenty of room not having those features.
Pandora and Slacker have album art and I think Slacker even has Artist Bio’s. SiriusXM should have worked something out with an album art licensee/provider.
no background playing is fault of apple’s not sxm, fyi.
I agree. What’s getting lost in all of this is the fact that it’s a GREAT app. Messed around with it this weekend and was very impressed with the sound quality, navigation, speed, etc..
Apple’s rules for applications state that YOU CANNOT have a application running in the background
Does Stern still own a gazillion shares of SIRIXM? Wouldn’t it be in his best interest to get over $1?
If I remember correctly Stern sold his Sirius shares the day that they were issued to him. This happened a few times.
Stern would be a hero if he came out and worked with sirius to amend his contract. Instead he will end up being a chump. Sirius helped him out with a rediculous contact with full control of his show at a time when he needed a new home. What do they get in return? NOTHING. He doesn’t even broadcast every day! what does this guy want. He can hold out, but I think his better days are behind him. He is not worth half of what he is currently getting.
I’d like to recommend a total repackaging of stearn. Give him his own phone number and web site for his fans to sign up on. Give stearn 50% of the revenue or charge a premium for his channels. Let him get paid for the subs he brings in. I bet we would all be suprised at how few are signing up just becuase of him.
How do you explain that Siruis had 600,000 subscribers before he signed up and about 8-10 million before the merger with XM? Must be all the Sinatra fans.
He didn’t broadcast everyday when he was commercial radio either.
Better, yet, why not fire Mel for not demanding that Stern do a “2nd Push” for subscribers as we were all led to believe he would accomplish a while back…
Yet another pile of steaming Kosher Krap from Mel Karmazin.
How many apps have been downloaded so far? Of those who download the app, what is the expected percentage people that will pay subscription costs? 50%, 40%,….?
Just curious, if this is just a “Howard Stern money powerplay” is he also keeping the NFL station, Baseball and NASCAR and the other content they left off? It’s obviously not just his show, and frankly it makes no sense. I can use the iPhone browser to load the Sirius player from their webpage and listen to Stern all day. Simply put it makes no sense.
Official answers from Sirius management should be disclosed soon before further deterioration of subscriber loyalty occurs. This is no good for the image of SiriusXM.
Sirius is not just Howard Stern. There are many million loyal subscribers that are not Stern fans. Overseas… He’s nothing… Sirius is moving global and many overseas folks don’t give a freeking hoot about Stern. Sirius will pick up 10’s of millions of subs from overseas and Stern will be a no factor.
This has nothing to do with Sirius and all to do with Stern trying to use the iphone app relase as a bargining chip… He knows that his popularity is not growing and the wave he has been riding is coming to an end. See ya Shock Jock… You don’t shock anyone anymore….
If you actually believe that, you are smoking crack.
If Stern retired tomorrow, Sirius-XM loses 50% of it’s subscribers INSTANTLY.
That means the end of the company.
Sirius-XM has a lot to offer.
However, let’s not kid ourselves.
Sirius-XM is in the Howard Stern business.
Howard Stern is NOT in the Sirius-XM business.
agreed….Howard understands loyalty….loyalty between himself and his staff/fans/management and advertisers…
hey now
You are so short sighted… Stern is so last year. The problem with Stern and most people who are on his show is that they ARE on crack…. Old news, has been, wash up, see ya Stern….
Global market, here we come… you really think international audiences care for him – get real…
You just don’t get it.
Sirius-XM will NEVER be a major international media player if it can’t become one in its own country.
Sirius-XM is NOTHING without Stern.
They can NOT survive without him.
Take a look at the number of 1-Star reviews of the iPhone app in the App Store.
Those are Stern fans.
Stern fans spend money.
For the record, Howard Stern has a SIGNIFICANT international audience via the internet feed.
Only a delusional SatRad fan would believe Stern is washed up and has no influence.
Sirius-XM can not survive without him.
You must be a short…cause all shorts have your short sightedness – I can see SXM providing Stern/NFL/MLB on iPhone for an additional fee like DTV does.
We’ll see… I’ll just watch the SP climb higher and take my $ when it gets to a couple of bucks. The only fans that are delusional are Stern fans and the shorts.
Your name is so original….
BooBoo isn’t a short. He’s just a fool who bought this stock at a very high price and is pissed that it may survive and people might do well investing in a company that raked his pocketbook over the coals.
Can’t survive without Howard who???? I think we all know who’s been hitting the crack pipe BooBoo.
I thought about the role Apple plays in all of this. Artie actually let on what happened when he said that the reason is all about the lack of money that Apple was willing to pay to Howard to get his channels. Contracts rigts is a B/S term, its all about the Benjamins. I’m certain that Apple wanted to pay a percentage based upon the total number of channels available, Howard being just two of say 150 channels he would be compensated in that ratio. I don’t think he would see it that way considering the size of his fan base. Hopefully in the comming weekes we can see how many Ipone subscribers Sirius gets and since they didn’t sign on for Howard they can make a deal with Howard that will bring his channels to the Iphone.
I can understand Howards point, he has a limited shelf life and he wants to get the most for his brand, on the other hand there are people on his channels who could have used what little money would have filtered down to them as well as the exposure also. It’s not fair to them.
Will this get resolved hopefully soon since I’m sure that Howard would like to grow his brand in this new form of media. It is nice to broadcast to a world wide audience which is mobile. I hope everyone remains calm and comes together to make a deal soon since Sirius will soon be on all the other smart phone apps, its only a matter of time.
I think it is hilarious that people think Howard is being greedy. Hello?! I would rather him make millions than some CEO of a bank that is ripping people off! At least he entertains me on a daily basis. I hope they can reach an amicable agreement because the only reason that I would pay to have Sirius on my iPhone is if Howard is a part of it.
BTW, just because people downloaded the application does NOT mean that they are going to pay $12.95/month for a Sirius subscription or $3.00/month if they already have a subscription. Pandora and Slacker can provide what Sirius can for free, if Howard isn’t involved in the mix.
Not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!……………………no time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! …………..
I pick and choose to BUY what I hear when I hear it, even though it may cost some money (0.99) :0…………It’s ‘mine’ there-after.
I don’t have time to do this anymore, and so many don’t have expertise to do it anyway !!
I tried pandora, TOO many picks and search and choose for this ‘old’ man………………..LOL !!
In 2 years I have listened to HS twice. It’ more offending than shocking. To me he is a small part of S/XM. I can’t imagine even 30% of listeners leaving because of him. The variety and quality of programming is what I like. And no irritating commercials! S/XM is a substitute for TV with me, in many cases. I think you will see the true value of S/XM after the arrest of the hedge fund managers and their inside friends.