Howard Stern is making major moves following sweeping layoffs at his SiriusXM show last month.
On Monday, Deadline reported that the longtime host of The Howard Stern Show will begin airing new episodes on Thursdays on HBO Max on September 17. His SiriusXM show, which reduced its episode bandwidth from two to one show a week last month, will still produce new episodes for SiriusXM on Mondays. The schedule change led to the axings of dozens of staffers, who were told over Zoom that the host “just doesn’t need that much content anymore,” according to Page Six.
The news follows rumors last year that contract negotiations with SiriusXM were pushing the show toward cancellation—and that his anti-Trump stance wasn’t helping.
The rumors were put to rest on Monday, as Stern gears up to produce the second of his weekly shows for HBO Max, with his own production company and SiriusXM still producing. His outspoken anti-MAGA stance could still become an issue, however, if and when Trump-friendly David Ellison takes over HBO.
According to Deadline, Stern’s Monday shows for the satellite radio company will be adapted to stream on HBO Max days after airing. The site also reports that occasional “extras” will accompany those episodes when they hit the streamer.
HBO Chairman Casey Bloys said in a statement, “Howard Stern has always been in a category of his own with an unmistakable, unique take on the world,” and that “We couldn’t be happier to welcome Howard to HBO Max and to partner with SiriusXM to bring The Howard Stern Show to the platform.”
Stern, the self-declared “King of All Media,” added in his own statement, “I am honored to bring my SiriusXM show to HBO Max, and through HBO Max to worldwide distribution.”
“For years, my SiriusXM show has offered only brief video peeks,” he went on, but “HBO convinced me to pull back the curtain and let the world watch.”
Stern, who has been on the radio for five decades and on SiriusXM since 2006, said in December that he was looking forward to more “free time” after he inked his latest contract with the company. “I’m happy to announce that I’ve figured out a way to have it all. More free time and continuing to be on the radio,” he said at the time. “I think the show is better than ever, I really do believe that in my heart.”
While the exact number of his latest three-year contract extension remains unreported, his previous five-year contract between 2020 and 2025 was reportedly worth $500 million.
