Howard Stern, at age 66, has decided to stick with SiriusXM for another five years.
“I’ve been proven right about satellite radio over and over again,” Stern said in a statement. “With this contract renewal, I can’t wait to see what else I’ll be right about.”
He left terrestrial radio out of frustration with management censoring him. SiriusXM enabled him to cover any topic he feels like and over time, he has been able to do extended, in-depth interviews with celebrities that would not have been possible on FM radio.
“Certainly, I have a lot more to say about Metamucil crackers and stepmom porn,” Stern wrote. “Plus, now that I can work from home, I simply don’t have an excuse to quit.”
The financial terms were not released, but his previous five-year contracts have reportedly paid him between $80 million and $100 million a year.
SiriusXM has about 35 million subscribers.
>>RELATED: The AJC interview with Stern in 2019
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Credit: BET+
Credit: BET+
The BET+ streaming service drama “The First Wives Club” is moving production from New York to Atlanta early next year for its second season.
The series, which debuted last year, features three women Ari (Ryan Michelle Bathe) Bree (Michelle Buteau), and Hazel (Jill Scott) who band together after their marriages fall apart, and who find strength in their sisterhood and a little revenge. It’s based on the original 1996 movie starring Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton. The show is set in New York City.
BET has been supportive of Atlanta for many years, shooting a variety of shows here including “Being Mary Jane” and “The Game.” Currently, all of its Tyler Perry shows are shot here, as is Will Packer’s BET+ series comedy “Bigger.”
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Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
The latest Nielsen monthly ratings didn’t show too much change with news/talk WSB remaining the top station with an 11.5 share, a spot it has held all year, usually by a wide margin.
The ratings book covers Oct. 8 to Nov. 4, the weeks leading up to the presidential election.
Sister Cox Media Group stations held at No. 2 and 3 respectively: rock station 97.1/The River and R&B station Kiss 104.1.
The top 10 remained largely the same.
Stations that saw the largest month-to-month changes were Christian station 93.3/Joy FM (1.7 to 2.4), R&B station Majic 107.5/97.5 (4.9 to 5.4), pop station B98.5 (3.7 to 4.3), sports talk 92.9/The Game (3.1 to 3.6) and news/talk 90.1/WABE-FM (3 to 2.5).
Star 94.1′s second full month with its new dance-pop format saw an increase to a 2.1 share from 1.7, which ranked 19th place, below its competitors B98.5 ( 4.3), Q100 (3.0) and Power 96.1 (2.8), which just dropped all its local talent. Among women 25 to 54, Star’s ratings edged up from 2.3 to 2.7, good for 14th place, but still behind Q100 (5.7), B98.5 (5.0) and Power (3.2).
Nielsen noted that radio listening increased in October and is 95% of pre-pandemic levels among listeners ages 12 and up, compared to 90% in September. Listening had fallen to 72% of normal listening in April and has been recovering ever since.
Top 20 stations
1. WSB news/talk 11.5
2. 97.1/The River rock 7.2
3. Kiss 104.1 R&B 6.7
4. Majic 107.5/97.5 R&B 5.4
5. V-103 R&B/hip hop 5.4
6. B98.5 pop 4.3
7. Fish 104.7 Christian pop 4.2
8. Praise 102.5 gospel 4.0
9. 94.9/The Bull country 4.7
10. 92.9/The Game sports talk 3.6
11. Q100 pop 3.0
12. Power 96.1 pop 2.8
13. (tie) Hot 107.9 hip hop and Kicks 105.5 country 2.7
15. 90.1/WABE news/talk 2.5
16. J93.3 Christian pop 2.4
17. 680/93.7 The Fan sports talk 2.3
18. Rock 100.5 2.2
19. Star 94 dance-pop 2.1
20. Love Christian pop 106.7 1.7
Top 10 morning shows
1. Scott Slade, WSB 13.6
2. Steve Harvey Majic 6.8
3. Steve Craig River 6.0
4. Kevin & Taylor, the Fish 5.6
5. Toni Moore, Kiss 5.5
6. Big Tigger/Morning Culture V-103 4.9
7. Bert Show Q100 4.4
8. Hugh Hewitt, 920/The Answer 3.6
9. (Tie) Erica Campbell, Praise and Morning Edition, WABE 3.3
Top 10 stations 25-54
1. The River 7.5
2. (tie) V-103, WSB 6.9
4. Majic 6.8
5. Kiss 6.0
6. The Game 4.6
7. B98.5 4.5
8. Fish 4.3
9. Bull 4.2
10. Q100 4.1
Top 10 morning shows 25-54
1. Scott Slade WSB 8.1
2. Steve Harvey Majic 7.8
3. Morning Culture V-103 6.8
4. Bert Show Q100 6.3
5. Kevin & Taylor Fish 6.0
6. Steve Craig The River 5.7
7. Toni Moore Kiss 5.2
8. Rickey Smiley Hot 107.9 4.0
9. John Fricke and Hugh Douglas, the Game 3.8
10. Morning Edition, WABE 3.7
Top 5 stations for men 25-54
1. WSB 10.4
2. River 8.3
3. The Game 8.0
4. Kiss 5.1
5. Majic 5.0
Top 5 stations for women 25-54
1. V-103 9.5
2. Majic 8.8
3. Kiss 7.0
4. River 6.7
5. Fish 6.5
Top 5 morning shows 25-54 men
1. Scott Slade WSB 11.5
2. John and Hugh, Game 6.7
3. Steve Craig, The River 6.4
4. Steve Harvey Majic 5.3
5. Toni Moore Kiss 4.9
Top 5 morning shows 25-54 women
1. Bert Show Q100 11.2
2. Morning Culture V-103 11.1
3. Steve Harvey Majic 10.5
4. Kevin & Taylor Fish 8.8
5. Toni Moore Kiss 5.5
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