Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin had previously said he hoped to have something to report on Howard Stern’s contract renewal when the satellite radio company reported its Q3 results. That was not to be.
“The discussions continue,” was the word Thursday from Karmazin. The Sirius XM CEO has made it clear that he wants to keep Stern, but only with a pay cut from the $100 million per year the company has been paying him for the five years that end December 31, 2010. Including bonuses for hitting subscriber targets, the current contract has paid Stern well over $600 million.
Asked by an analyst whether Stern is still bringing in new subscribers, Karmazin said the full range of Sirius XM’s programming channels is attracting new subscribers to the service and Stern is part of that.
The other big contract up for renewal is the National Football League. On that front, Karmazin said “it’s still very near.” He said lawyers are still ironing out a couple of issues. “Nothing that we believe that is material and hopefully we will be able to officially announce one very soon.”
