The NY Post reports SiriusXM Chief Executive Jim Meyer said Thursday on a 2Q earnings call that the company has re-engaged with Stern about re-upping his contract, following a lull caused by the pandemic.
Stern’s five-year contact lapses at the end of 2020, leading to buzz about whether he will retire, re-up with Sirius, or contemplate moving his show to a rival like Spotify, whose podcasting unit has been on a buying spree.
“Howard is very happy with what he’s doing. It matters when Howard is happy,” Meyer said. “His show is better, and he’s more relaxed. I’ve been clear: I want Howard Stern to work at SiriusXM for as long as Howard Stern wants to work.”
The CEO said he was optimistic about keeping Stern with the satellite radio company, adding: “I know what Howard wants. And we’re trying to figure out a way to make all those things work together. I don’t want to be overly optimistic here, but I want Howard here… We’ll keep working and we’ll get there, I hope. At the end of the day, it will come down to what Howard wants to do.”In the event that Stern steps away from his live shows, SiriusXM will retain the rights to his library for seven years and will keep airing them. “That’s not what I want. I want Howard on air,” Meyer insisted.
Turning to his company’s results, Meyer said the business is improving after a tough slog brought on by the pandemic, which has reduced new car sales, thus lowering Sirius’ reach.
During the three months ended June 30, the company, controlled by John Malone’s Liberty Media, said it added 264,000 self-pay subscribers at SiriusXM but lost 768,000 promotional subscribers.
Sirius ended the quarter with 30.3 million self-pay and 34.3 million total users, down 516,000.
No comments:
Post a Comment