SiriusXM Says Howard Stern Renewal ‘Has to Make Sense’

Photo Credit: Bill Norton / CC by 2.0

As Howard Stern’s five-year, $500M SiriusXM deal winds down at the end of 2025, the fate of ‘The Howard Stern Show’ has become a focal point for rumors of cancellation.

Over the past several weeks, rumors have intensified about the legendary shock jock’s supposed cancellation, following a drastic drop in listeners that has cast doubt on his place at the satellite radio network. Stern’s once-dominant audience, which peaked at 20 million daily in his terrestrial radio heyday has reportedly plummeted to between 125,000–150,000 in recent months.

Industry insiders attribute this sharp contraction to Stern’s increasingly political content, a pivot that alienated much of his core audience. “He lost millions because he stopped being funny and started preaching,” one insider was quoted as saying. The drop stands out as SiriusXM restructures its content approach and weighs its investments in flagship programming.

Amid these swirling rumors of Stern’s firing or non-renewal, SiriusXM executives are finally weighing in. Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s President & Chief Content Officer, offered clarity at the Bank of America 2025 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference on September 3. The goal appears to have the shock jock stay, but Greenstein emphasizes that the deal offered “must make sense.”

“So Howard, for all these years and right up until now, is as important a content, single piece of content as we’ve had from the sense of being a lightning rod to get awareness for the service and publicity and all of that. He’s the best interviewer out there, period, bar none,” Greenstein says.

“And we’ve always had a series, as all of you know, of renewals. With any talent at that level, you’re always going to have an extended period of negotiations. We’ve been pretty lucky all these years. We’d love them to stay. It certainly has to make sense, but we feel pretty good that we’ve done this before, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Meanwhile, the ‘Call Her Daddy‘ podcast draws millions of listeners per episode, consistently ranking as one of the most popular podcasts globally. The show’s multi-year deal with SiriusXM is valued at $125 million, cementing host Alex Cooper as SiriusXM’s ‘podcasting queen.’ Reports have surfaced suggesting that Howard Stern ‘can’t stand’ Alex Cooper and her show’s explosive success. “He hates that this young, bubbly woman is the new big thing,” one insider is quoted as saying.

“For the first time in his illustrious career, the signing [of Alex Cooper] made Stern no longer the biggest, most relevant star at SiriusXM,” reports another. That friction reportedly arises from Cooper’s dominance in digital content and the generational shift that she represents.