Reports of his SiriusXM show’s impending end have allegedly re-energized radio icon Howard Stern, who insiders say wants to prove he’s still one of the best interviewers around.
“He’s in a bring-it-on mind frame,” the source said, adding the self-described “King of All Media,” whose $500 million contract runs out in mere months, is considering a shift to video streaming.
“If he signs with Sirius again or anywhere else, it will be his last contract,” the source told DailyMail. “If Sirius doesn’t sign him, he will have a backup plan. He is not going to allow anyone [to] be the reason for the end of his career besides himself and what he wants to do.”
The source speculated Stern, 71, might move to Netflix or HBO Max.
Last year, HBO aired Stern’s two-hour-long interview with New Jersey rocker Bruce Springsteen.
The source described Stern as being “pumped up” by the speculation over his next move.
“Howard likes what he likes and though he could be bitter on how things are going, it isn’t anything new to him,” the source offered. “He also isn’t blaming things on his age; the world has changed. He has changed himself. If he didn’t, he would have been gone a long time ago.
“He still wants to figure something out to stay, especially for his team that would mostly be affected,” the source continued.
Stern’s audience has falled from 20 million at its height to 125,000 daily listeners now.
Meanwhile, some of Stern’s show’s writers have reportedly been keeping their best jokes for themselves, secretly hoping to use after the show’s eventual end, one worker told The Post.
“Most of us have been coasting at work the last year,” because “we know he’s retiring, whether by choice or because he’s forced out,” one longtime staffer said.
Critics have also claimed the Long Island radio visionary has been “woke” since endorsing Hillary Clinton’s run against former pal President Donald Trump in 2015.
“All this unknown is music to Howard’s ears,” the source insisted. “He thrives in this element of the unknown.”
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