Numerous media outlets are circulating a story published in the Daily Mail that Howard Stern did not return to a live broadcast of his SiriusXM program today (9/2) as promised because he is frustrated “over the new
contract.” Stern’s current five-year deal expires later this fall and speculation earlier this summer that the satcaster and Stern would part ways at the end of his current deal spurred Stern to issue a statement on his show (during summer re-runs) that he’d be back on September 2 to dispel the rumors. There are reports that Stern is dealing with his 98-year-old mother’s failing health and that is weighing on him. The story indicates Stern sent an email to his employees to explain the situation, but sources supplied no details about that email. The New York Post story says Stern’s listenership has gone from “20 million at its height to 125,000 daily listeners now.” However, SiriusXM doesn’t publish its listener data and no sources are provided for those figures. See the Post story here.
