Before I run off and scribe my How I Got on the Howard Stern Show Without Taking Off My Clothes book -- and I'm kidding, by the way -- I should flesh out the surreal experience I had yesterday when I was driving around, only to hear Stern say some really kind words about my Sirius Highs article.
He claimed that parent company Viacom (NYSE: VIA) has him handcuffed when it comes to talking about his upcoming move to Sirius Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) come 2006. He did eventually post a link to it on his HowardStern.com site, but that came after proposing that he just read it during his appearance tonight on The Late Show with David Letterman.
No, I don't think he will do it. Stern rules the roughly four dozen syndicated markets he airs in, so just getting The Motley Fool name out there in a favorable light to his more than 10 million loyal radio listeners this week is plenty.
But after giving away 500 Sirius boom boxes and thousands of certificates for free Sirius radio receivers at Union Square this afternoon, it's clear that tonight's appearance on Letterman will be worth tuning in to.
Yes, Viacom also owns CBS, so one has to wonder whether he will have the freedom to pitch his new broadcasting home and sling mud at the FCC. While it may have been a more receptive approach to turn to Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ABC or General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC for their late-night shows, maybe it's poetically fitting that he is looking to make waves in the Viacom-owned tub.
Can Viacom really take another 14 months of featuring a show that is championing the move away from free commercial radio? They can shackle him during his show, but there are 20 more hours in the day to really get the word out.
It's obvious, anyway. XM Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: XMSR) and Sirius represent the future of radio. Viacom not entering the negotiating table to find some way to hand Stern over earlier than January 2006 is just going to hurt it next year. So perhaps that is why they will let Stern state his claim. The satellite radio revolution is strong -- with a million migrating this quarter alone -- but Stern should be the one to carve the revolution in stone.
Exclusive content is what will make satellite radio this generation's Rule Breaker. Viacom is going to have to deal with that sooner or later. So whether Letterman is told to cut Stern off or to let him ramble tonight will be a dynamic chapter in the satellite radio revolution. As a matter of fact, it may even be the first chapter.
What will satellite radio really mean to free radio? Can a television appearance really shape the future of radio? All this and more -- in the Sirius discussion board. Only on Fool.com.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz thinks that XM and Sirius will defy the cynics and the skeptics over the coming years, and he only hopes that they learn to treat their income statements and balance sheets a little better. He owns shares in Disney but none of the other companies mentioned in this story. He is a member of the
Rule Breakers
team, seeking out tomorrow's great growth stocks today.
Terms & Conditions
RSS Headlines
Fool UK