Is Howard Stern leaving or staying at SiriusXM: What we know so far

Is Howard Stern staying or going? Is SiriusXM about to lose its biggest star, or (as some insist) formerly biggest?

What's behind all this speculation about his future, and why so much in recent weeks?

The Long Island-raised Stern will be back on the air Tuesday following a nearly monthlong vacation and his media team has indicated that he will address everything then. (He did a show on Aug. 6, but did not address the rumors.)

Or maybe. A recent WWE-styled Instagram post said that "all the questions will be answered, all the truths will be told ... Howard Stern will speak!"

But what "truths," and speak about what? Most of all, what questions?

Here are seven:

Where did all this start?

In an Aug. 5 story posted on the website of the online tabloid U.S. Sun, which ran under the headline saying "The Howard Stern Show" was "set to be canceled after a 20-year run," followed by an anonymous quote in the story saying "Stern's contract is up in the fall and while Sirius is planning to make him an offer, they don't intend for him to take it." A contradiction — sure — but that didn't stop a handful of other tabloids from tripping over themselves to follow. (A SiriusXM spokesman declined to comment, while Julia Buchwald, who handles Stern's contracts and runs press interference, did not return a call.)

Why all the fuss given the source?

Because there always is at contract time — a kind of where-there's-smoke-there's-fire phenomenon, which some reasonably believe is fanned by the Stern camp itself. For example, in early August, 2020, former Stern-intern-turned-podcaster Steve Grillo said that "I've heard ... Howard's pretty much done." Knowing clickbait when they smell it, tabloid stories followed. Then, on Dec. 8, Stern announced on his show that he'd signed a new five-year deal, declaring, "I've been proven right about satellite radio over and over again. With this contract renewal, I can't wait to see what else I'll be right about."

What's different this time?

In one obvious sense, the entire world is different. Major media has continued its decline, SiriusXM included — which has sought to stanch a subscription slump by purchasing popular podcasts ("Smartless," "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend," and Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy"). Moreover, President Donald Trump, no friend of the mainstream media, has also targeted former pal Stern — for now just on Truth Social.

Have listeners abandoned 'The Howard Stern Show?'

Other than SiriusXM and some select advertisers, no one really knows how many subscribers listen to any of Sirius' 150-plus channels, including "Howard 100" (the main show) and "Howard 101" (archival). Michael Harrison — the one-time WLIR/WNEW-FM host who has written about the business for more than 50 years — said, "I have always been distrustful of numbers in the radio business," including those that relate to Stern in particular. That's because Stern fans (and Stern) tend to inflate that audience, while his detractors — angered by his political left turn and anti-Trump rhetoric — insist his listenership has evaporated. While no one disputes Stern's ratings are less than they were back in 2006 when he moved from terrestrial radio to satellite, the ratings for so many others on TV and radio are down as well.

Can SiriusXM afford Stern?

This has been the talking point, or as the Sun confidently stated, "Sirius and Stern are never going to meet on the money he wants" — a point reflected during every contract negotiation, incidentally. But money wasn't an impediment when Sirius — with 33 million subscribers — paid Cooper $125 million for a three-year deal, or $100 million for Smartless, both in 2024. (According to numerous press reports, SiriusXM is believed to have paid Stern and his production company somewhere between $350 million and $500 million for each five-year contract cycle, but reliable numbers are impossible to come by.)

What does Stern want?

Stern, 71, and SiriusXM could reach another agreement, should they choose, or as Harrison puts it, if "the dollar and cents for Sirius and for Howard Stern" add up. However, in a 2019 interview with The New York Times, Stern said, "I can say to you with almost 100% certainty that I [will] retire at the end of this contract, but I say that about the end of every contract. I'm afraid to walk away." Stern's personal world has changed too. His longtime agent, Don Buchwald, died in 2024, his close friend and stylist, Ralph Cirella, in 2023, and his father, Ben, in 2022, at the age of 99. Could any of this have an impact? Harrison says, "Money will win with Stern — he's been in this long enough to have pride in the value of his work [but] he cares very much about his legacy. He's a radio guy and radio guys care about their legacy."

And is that legacy about to wrap, at least with SiriusXM?

Some have their doubts. Dan Forman, a former Stern colleague, says, "I don't have any inside information and I wouldn't reveal it if I had, but all I know is that Howard Stern is and continues to be the most talented and compelling" figure on radio.

Or, put another way, we'll all have to wait for Tuesday.