Howard Stern to Move to Sirius Radio
"Shock jock" Howard Stern will jump to Sirius Satellite Radio (NasdaqNM: SIRI - News ) in January 2006, moving his controversial show from the public airwaves and giving the nascent satellite radio sector a big boost.

By luring Stern away from his current employer, Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE: VIAb - News ) Infinity Broadcasting, the $500 million, five-year deal announced on Wednesday by Stern and Sirius will propel the new business built on attracting subscribers to dozens of radio stations broadcast digitally.

Sirius, whose shares rose about 14 percent to their highest level in more than two years in early trading, gets a boost in its rivalry with its larger competitor XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (NasdaqNM: XMSR - News ).

It also offers Stern a degree of freedom for his often off-color show, which includes such segments as "Lesbian Dial-A-Date," in which he plays matchmaker in a mock game show that has been criticized as being offensive. Stern was dropped earlier this year from several stations.

Sirius currently has more than 600,000 subscribers, a small amount compared to Stern's current audience of 12 million listeners on broadcast radio, where he ranks No. 1 in 46 large markets across the country.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission ( News - Websites ) regulates radio broadcast programs but does not regulate satellite radio programs.

An Infinity spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

Indecency on the airwaves became a national issue in January when Janet Jackson bared a breast during the National Football League's Super Bowl half-time show on CBS, which is also owned by Viacom.

Since then, Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU - News ), which kicked Stern off six of its stations, was fined $1.75 million by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to settle all indecency complaints.

In August, XM, which boasts more than 2 million subscribers, signed bawdy morning talk show team "Opie and Anthony" to one of its premium channels beginning this month. The two were fired by Infinity in 2002 after they broadcast a segment on a couple purportedly having sex in a prominent New York City church.

XM charges an additional $1.99 a month on top of its regular $9.99 monthly fee for the service. In contrast, Sirius will make Stern's show part of its $12.95 monthly service.

Sirius said it would need to add 1 million subscribers to cover the cost of the five-year deal. The company estimates total production and operating costs for the show to be about $100 million annually. XM shares fell nearly 3 percent in early trading.

The company is betting its subscriber rolls will rise sharply, but it said it does not expect that to occur until after his show goes on the air in January 2006.