Stern moves for a bit of space

FOR two decades, Howard Stern’s nationally syndicated morning radio show has been a favorite daily outrage for cultural conservatives revolted by the shock jock’s brand of bodily function-based humor and obsession with lesbians, alcoholics and porn stars. It may be small consolation, but in recent years critics weren’t the only ones enraged by the show -- so was Stern.

“Every bit I became famous for -- the stuff my audience loves -- they aren’t hearing it anymore,” Stern fumed recently in an interview at a posh hotel suite here. “I get letters from my fans, they’ll go, ‘Hey, the show isn’t as funny as it used to be,’ and I’ll write them back and say, ‘You’re damn right it isn’t.’ The government won’t let me do it.”

Stern points to a recent segment he wanted to air called “It’s Just Wrong,” where fathers undress their daughters in a group competition for prizes. His show’s producers -- fearing another in a long series of fines from the Federal Communications Commission -- quashed it. “They weren’t having sex or anything, it was pretty harmless,” said an exasperated Stern. “I just thought -- that’s it. Over. Game over.”

Some might just call that good taste, but to Stern it was an indignity -- and one he won’t have to endure after Friday, when he officially leaves terrestrial radio with a promised bang in search of a louder one on the unregulated, uncensored channels of Sirius Satellite Radio. His satellite gig kicks off on Jan. 9.

The move from terrestrial to satellite raises numerous questions, among them: How many of Stern’s estimated 12 million daily listeners will pay $12.95 per month to continue their Howard habit, and will the FCC bow to growing political pressure to rein in cable and satellite content? But one thing is clear: Whether you see Stern as a trend-setting revolutionary or an aging schlockmeister who wants to sink even lower without FCC interference, his shows on Sirius will stamp the largely virginal medium with new benchmarks and standards for taste and decency.

Or as Stern, hailed by fans as much for his advocacy of the 1st Amendment and skillful interviewing techniques as his ribald humor, put it, while again damning the FCC: “I’m going full steam ahead.”

Stern’s defection from terrestrial radio comes at time of dynamic change in the mass consumption of entertainment and news in which consumers are increasingly veering away from traditional media and toward high-tech cable, Internet and satellite outlets.

Driven largely by the enormous appeal of commercial-free and niche programming, satellite radio subscriptions for both Sirius and its much larger competitor XM Satellite Radio have soared recently. In the past year alone, New York City-based Sirius -- thanks in no small measure to luring Stern away from Infinity Broadcasting -- has gone from around 650,000 subscriptions to an estimated 3 million. “You get this huge universe of channels, forget my channels, all kinds of musical programming you can’t get anywhere,” said Stern. “We can say to the 500 people who like banjo music, you’ve now got a 24-hour banjo channel.”

Meanwhile, Washington, D.C.-based XM, which touts its broadcasts of Major League Baseball and its lesser known shock jock duo Opie and Anthony, has undergone similar growth and expects to hit well over 5 million subscribers by year’s end. Both companies are expected to make substantial listener gains as more and more auto companies roll out new vehicles with satellite-ready radios.

The self-proclaimed “King of All Media’s” highly anticipated leap to satellite has been fueled by an aggressive national publicity blitz worthy of the movie premiere of “King Kong.” Already, Stern has popped up on “Late Night With David Letterman,” “60 Minutes” and “Today,” and upcoming appearances are slated for “Larry King Live” and an opening sketch on “Saturday Night Live.” During closely timed interviews, Stern, who almost brags about seeing a therapist four times a week, lived up to his reputation as a control freak, surrounding himself with a team of handlers, Sirius executives and a camera crew filming the proceedings.

Talking points

IN person, Stern whose face was mostly hidden behind a mop of black tangled hair and tinted eyeglasses, was unfailingly polite, energetic and funny. Like a candidate running for office, the 51-year-old disc jockey repeatedly worked at his clutch of talking points, namely, his new medium, his new employer -- which says it is paying him $500 million over the next five years -- and in a cursory way his new shows. (Sirius, which reported a net loss of around $100 million last quarter, is banking its future on the Stern brand to help pay his monstrous salary, a combination of cash and company stock.)

Stern has complete creative control in programming two channels whose details are still being determined. In broad strokes, though, the so-called Howard 100 will be an entertainment news station reporting on celebrities and lifestyle stories, while Howard Stern II will essentially be an uncensored version of his current morning show. Stern said his channels will have commercial sponsors -- though significantly fewer than his current show.

While advertisements on a medium that promotes itself as “commercial-free” may be annoying, other radio observers wonder whether the loss of his longtime governmental adversary might deflate the new show’s comic punch unless a replacement can be found.

“Everyone thinks Howard Stern’s major partner is Robin Quivers, but it’s really the FCC,” said Jerry Del Colliano, a onetime DJ and program director, now a professor of music industry and recording arts at USC’s Thornton School of Music. “My prediction is that he will find a cause, something to rally the listeners, and without it I don’t think his new show is going to work.”

Others, like the Parents Television Council, a nonprofit organization that has railed against Stern and seeks tighter decency restrictions on broadcast radio and television, fear that an unfettered Stern will sink into an unending stream of coarse language, bodily noises and hard-core sex.

But that is unlikely, say those who have closely followed the broadcaster’s long-running and resilient career. Stern’s constant toying with and occasional crossing of the lines drawn by the FCC has supplied the show with a powerful comic force, and he is too clever an entertainer to simply abandon that tension entirely.

“It’s like Ross and Rachel, it’s interesting if they flirt, but if they get married again and again, then the drama is over,” said Mark Ramsey, president of Mercury, a San Diego-based radio research and marketing company, referring to the “Friends” story line. “Howard has done enough shows on jump the shark to avoid that problem.”

Stern did mention a couple of shows he plans to put on the air:

“Crack ‘Ho View” -- “You’ve heard of ‘The View’?” said Stern. “Well, we’re going to take every topic from ‘The View,’ but let crack ‘hos go at it.”

“Meet the Shrink” -- A reality-based show featuring a regular Stern contributor, Jeff the Drunk, in sessions with a therapist discussing, among other things, his alcoholism. “It’s one of my dream shows,” said Stern.

Otherwise, the heart and soul of his channels will simply be restoring to the airwaves what the FCC either watered down or blotted out. For instance, a segment like the “Bathroom Olympics,” where contestants eat huge amounts of food and then wagers are placed on the weight of their bowel movements, will be resurrected.

Stern said he could also get on and say expletives every other word, but “I never did that on regular radio. It’s ludicrous of people to think that’s what I want to go do. What sold my show was honesty. It wouldn’t have lasted 20 years otherwise.”

Customers’ dictates

THESE kinds of topics aren’t new to satellite radio, where both Sirius and XM currently broadcast adult comedy channels. Both satellite companies -- whose executives are quick to note that their “blue” channels can be easily blocked out by concerned parents -- feature the same raw and raunchy content heard in comedy clubs or cable television specials.

Rumblings about potential government interference haven’t led Sirius officials to impose any restrictions on their prized acquisition. “Howard is still building the show as we speak,” said Patrick Reilly, a Sirius spokesman. “It will be his performance space on the radio. It’s not like we have a list of 10 things Howard cannot do or something.”

Besides, satellite radio programmers argue that they must contend with a tougher crowd than the FCC -- their paying customers, the majority of whom are white, affluent, well-educated, and over 35. It’s this demographic base that, for the time being anyway, will exert the greatest influence over the limits of satellite.

“We are a pay service, and our subscribers hold us to a much higher standard,” said Eric Logan, executive vice president of programming at XM Satellite Radio. “If we’re doing something offensive, they aren’t bashful about calling, e-mailing or showing up at our doorstep.”

Under growing pressure, mostly from parents groups, four bills have been submitted before Congress that would place stricter limits on the content on cable and satellite television. None currently include regulating satellite radio, but observers feel that could change because of the Stern factor.

“Stern is going to be a flashing red light to Congress,” said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade publication Inside Radio. “It’s clear they are aware of his movement to satellite ... and it’s also clear that there are many people who want to spread the net of regulation much wider.”

As for the medium he leaves behind, Stern not surprisingly is optimistic about its future. The FCC, he said, crushed the life out of his show and is doing the same to others on terrestrial radio. He expressed sympathy for his successor in the Los Angeles market, Adam Carolla, a friend and regular guest on his old show. Carolla will take over Stern’s slot locally on KSLX-FM (97.1) beginning Jan. 3.

“I know Adam personally and he doesn’t have a clue -- and I mean this in the nicest way -- about how he is going to have to regulate his language,” said Stern. “Adam would come on my show and go, ‘I was masturbating last night,’ and [my producer] would be hitting the button and Adam would say, ‘Did I say something wrong?’ ”

“I can’t imagine how FM and AM radio are going to find the talent to reinvent themselves,” he added. “They’re not. I know who’s there.”

Toward the end of the interview, Stern sipped from his bottled water and looked at the container.

“You know what, I’m sitting here drinking Evian water. Bottled water, what a dumb idea,” said Stern. “But you know what, it’s all I buy. Cable television, I love it. Satellite TV is great. It’s a better product. We all pay for TV now, and gladly.

“I will bring some people to the game,” he added. “I will accelerate the growth of satellite, but at some point satellite would have happened anyway.”

Contact Martin Miller at calendar.letters@latimes.com.