Radio, Radio

Howard Stern Wed drove a stake through the heart of traditional broadcast radio, and the FCC handed him the hammer. The wildly popular radio personality—#1 in the nation among the money-hemorrhaging M 18-49 demo—signed a 5-yr deal with satellite radio service Sirius, beginning once his Viacom contract expires in Jan ’06. Sirius CEO Joseph Clayton said the company needs to add 1mln subs to cover Stern’s contract: "When you look at his enormous existing fan base, all we need is for Howard to bring in a small fraction of his weekly audience for this agreement to pay for itself." As is the case with cable, satellite radio is largely unregulated and uncensored. — Looks like Wall St’s a big Stern fan, as Sirius shares rocketed to a $3.87 close Wed, up 52 cents, or 15.52%.