Despite Contract Uncertainty, Stern Plans L.A. Broadcasts

Howard Stern is planning a week’s worth of broadcasts in Los Angeles in January--that is, if he’s still under contract as a nationally syndicated radio personality.

Last weekend, producers from Stern’s morning show and cable’s E! Entertainment Television, where Stern is seen six nights a week, were in town scouting locations, which a source characterized as “just-add-water celebrity places,” including the House of Blues in West Hollywood. The shows could coincide with Stern’s birthday, which is Jan. 12.

Stern, whose show emanates from New York, is heard locally live from 3-6 a.m. and in replay from 6-10 a.m. on KLSX-FM (97.1). His last show under his current contract with Viacom Inc.’s Infinity Broadcasting Corp. is scheduled for Dec. 15. Stern has regularly floated the notion on the air that the coming weeks are his last as a morning radio personality. But the medium has also been the key component in Stern’s expansion into publishing, movies and television, leading many to doubt he would cut himself off from his morning-drive audience.

Seen in this context, the Los Angeles shows are an indication at least that Stern’s plans extend beyond the current contract deadline.

“Over time, his affection for L.A. is growing with the amount of production deals and friends he has here,” a source said of the planned shows in Los Angeles.

In addition to his late-night “Howard Stern Radio Show,” seen at 11:30 Saturday nights on CBS, TV broadcasts of Stern’s radio shows are seen on E! Meanwhile, as an executive producer, Stern has the “Baywatch” parody “Son of the Beach” on cable’s FX. Another series, the animated “Doomsday,” hasn’t been able to get out of development at UPN for two years, although the network still has a 13-episode commitment to the series, which is now slated for fall 2001.

On the air Tuesday, Stern said there is a 60% chance he will sign a new radio deal, and that his agent, Don Buchwald, is back in negotiations with Infinity. Stern’s openness on the air is contrasted by the high public-relations wall that surrounds him off the air. Stern’s radio show producer, Gary Dell’Abate, referred questions to Buchwald, who did not return a phone call seeking comment.

In the L.A. market, Stern, whose show anchors the entire lineup for KLSX, showed a ratings improvement in the last reported Arbitron rankings, finishing in a fourth-place tie for the summer period with Rick Dees on KIIS-FM (102.7) among listeners 12 and older. This followed a slumping spring for Stern, and Arbitron figures showing that in key markets Stern’s audience was dwindling, including Los Angeles, where Stern experienced a 20% drop in two years, down to 357,800 listeners daily. Still, his comedic recipe of raunch and celebrity gossip has traditionally made him a strong franchise for adult males, if not the self-proclaimed “King of All Media.”

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* “The Howard Stern Show” can be heard weekdays live from 3-6 a.m. and in replay from 6-10 a.m. on KLSX-FM (97.1).