SiriusXM Making Progress On New Stern Deal

The boss of SiriusXM said the satellite-radio giant is “making significant progress” on a deal to extend Howard Stern’s contract.

“Howard tells me he’s never been happier and our relationship with Howard has never been stronger,” outgoing Chief Executive Jim Meyer said on a Thursday earnings call with investors. "I can tell you that where we are in the discussions today, we have a set of economics that Howard’s team is happy with and I’m happy with. Obviously, we’ve got to get the deal completed. And it would be a -- certainly a long-term arrangement is what we contemplate. But stay tuned there. And hopefully, we’ll have more to say here pretty soon.

The 66-year-old shock jock’s current contract lapses at the end of 2020, and media watchers have speculated whether he will retire or defect to a rival service like Spotify, which has been on a podcast spending spree this year.

Earlier this month, a Bloomberg report said Sirius was looking to fork over $120 million a year to keep Stern at the satellite radio station. Stern quickly shot that down on his show, saying he hasn’t seen a new contract and that he and his agent were “kind of baffled” by the report.

“I’m ready to take that deal if I can get it,” the shock jock quipped on air. “It sounded awesome.”

Stern’s previous five-year contracts reportedly have paid him between $80 million and $100 million a year, reports The NY Post.