Howard Stern Addresses Retirement Rumors and SiriusXM Future

Hoawrd Stern BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

This week I returned to SiriusXM after a summer break, jumping right into headlines and social media chatter sparked by an elaborate prank with Andy Cohen as my stand-in. Variety and other outlets lit up with guesses about my exit when Andy, tongue-in-cheek, took over my channel. Almost instantly, reports of my supposed departure surged all over Twitter and the press, some even speculating on who would fill my shoes. It was all just a bit. As I told listeners on air, everything you’ve been reading about my future with SiriusXM is completely false. There has been a lot of speculation because my contract, reportedly around $100 million a year, is up at the end of this year and SiriusXM’s subscriber numbers are slipping—down to 33 million, which has intensified discussions about the company’s dependence on The Howard Stern Show, especially as the audio industry shifts to podcasts and streaming giants.

I addressed the rumors directly, saying SiriusXM and I have been in active discussions about how to move forward, and I set the record straight: I am not leaving yet, nor am I being pushed out—despite headlines that screamed the contrary. The fervor got so wild that SiriusXM’s stock dropped over four percent in pre-market trading before recovering once I cleared things up on air. The whole episode gave me a reminder of my influence, which was honestly flattering—other media companies even started reaching out after the news spiraled. As always, I tried to put things in perspective, telling listeners not to believe the tabloid drama and emphasizing how much I appreciate my colleagues like Andy Cohen and Alex Cooper, dismissing any suggestion of a behind-the-scenes feud as total fiction.

I also continued delivering my usual mix of unscripted radio, humor, and commentary, as seen on my September 9 broadcast, happily sparking even more online debates about what’s next for both me and SiriusXM. The only thing confirmed is that I am still on the air and weighing options as this contract winds down. Whether I retire or pivot to more flexible podcast-style formats, the conversation about my career continues to resonate far beyond radio. For now, all the retirement talk and exit gossip is just that—talk.

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