from the NY Post
January 22, 2004
January 22, 2004 -- EXCLUSIVE
Move over Barbara Walters, here comes Howard Stern.
ABC has just inked a deal with the shaggy-haired shock jock to do a prime-time interview special this spring, The Post has learned.
The one-time, hour-long program is seen as a test run - and more shows could follow.
The move will propel the King of All Media into the same elite category as ABC's other top interview talent, including Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer.
Sources say Stern already has a long list of possible guests to grill in his controversial sex-charged style that usually includes embarrassing questions about threesomes, penis size, lesbian experiences and bathroom habits.
"There's probably no better interviewer than Howard Stern, and ABC knows this," a source told The Post.
Whether Stern, who just turned 50, will be able to get away with the often stunningly foul queries he makes on his nationally syndicated radio show remains to be seen.
But with ABC in the ratings toilet, chances are network brass may be willing to go out on the limb and give Stern complete editorial control.
Meanwhile, Stern's new gig with ABC is bound to ruffle the feathers of many of the network's big names, including Star Jones of "The View," who has been attacked mercilessly about her weight by the raunchy radio gabber.
You can bet Howard will shake up the format of the TV interview," a Stern associate gloated last night. "Don't be surprised that after his show gets huge ratings, Barbara Walters is suddenly asking her guests about their penis size."
Walters and Jones could not be reached for comment last night.
What Stern is being paid for his show was not known last night. His agent did not return calls.
ABC is the second network which Stern works with. He's also producing a pilot for the WB with comedian Robert Schimmel about the funnyman's true-life experience of falling in love with his daughter's best friend after winning his battle with cancer three years ago.
Intriguingly, CBS - which is associated through parent company Viacom with Stern's radio show - is conspicuously absent from any of Stern's TV plans.
Media onlookers see that as Stern's slap at CBS chief Les Moonves, with whom he's had a longstanding feud.
Moonves had no comment, but a CBS spokesman noted that a number of the network's stars made occasional deals with competitors.
"We wish Howard success with his new project," said the spokesman.
| Son of the Beach | Doomsday | Kane | Howard Stern: The High School Years | Etiquette For Outlaws | The Bob Schimmel Show |
from Variety.com
June 21, 2005
Howard Stern has officially parted ways with E!, his show's TV home of 11 years.
Cabler has pinkslipped all 15 staffers on "The Howard Stern Show," reassigned a pair on the West Coast and announced that skeinskein's final original episode will tape July 1 for airing July 8.
Insiders say E! has dropped out of the bidding to keep the show on the air, leaving men's cabler Spike TV poised to pick up the daily radio broadcast once it moves to Sirius Satellite Radio (Daily Variety, May 18).
Stern's contract with E! expires at the end of the month, but E! had reportedly remained interested in keeping the franchise alive, competing against interest from Spike and perhaps HBO. Stern has ended talks with the entertainment cabler but is still pursuing an agreement with Spike.
Alluding to the split with E! during his radio show Tuesday, Stern indicated a plan was in place moving forward but did not provide specifics.
Timing of the show's departure is ironic for E!, as cabler has just scored some of its highest ratings of the recent past with "Party at the Palms," a "Wild On!"-style skein that takes place entirely at the Las Vegas resort. Show, which collected 2.2 million total viewers in its premiere and repeat showing, would have made a fitting companion series.
DM add: E!'s eagerness to extend the relationship with Stern has been tempered by the fact that his show's risque content has limited its appeal among advertisers, meaning the net isn't reaping financial benefits commensurate with the ratings. In addition, the content could be even racier after the radio show shifts to Sirius, where Stern won't have to fret about FCC fines.
Nevertheless, for E!, the loss of "Stern" could be severe. Series pulls in some of the cabler's best numbers -- year-to-date, it averages 793,000 total viewers, 494,000 in adults 18-49. And E! can't afford to lose any of its strong performers: For the first quarter, E! dropped double digits in key adult 18-49 and 18-34 demos year-to-year and averaged 279,000 overall viewers in total day, 386,000 in primetime.
Hot to handle
Viacom-owned Spike would make an appropriate home for Stern but is said to be debating how to handle the content of Stern's restriction-free satellite show. With his move to pay radio -- likely a sign of even raunchier, more controversial content ahead -- E! parent Comcast hadn't aggressively been trying to keep Stern at the cabler, which already has to edit his show to fit standards.
Money is another issue. E! produced 250 original episodes of the skein, resulting in a costly show. And though Stern will be making $500 million via his five-year deal with Sirius, he's holding out for top-dollar fees for the TV version.
DM added: A Spike deal would also extend at least some relationship between Stern and Viacom, since the conglomconglom's Infinity Broadcasting is behind his current radio show.
Reps for Stern could not be reached, and Spike declined comment.
In place of new "Stern" segs, E! will schedule repeats from its vast "Stern" library of more than 2,000 episodes. While original episodes provided powerhouse ratings for the cabler, repeats have performed just as well if not better. According to Nielsen Media Research, since last June, the 11 p.m. premiere episodes average a 0.76 household rating while the 11:30 p.m. repeats average a 0.78.
"Howard Stern is one of the most influential and successful brands in the history of broadcasting, and the value of his contributions to E! Entertainment Television is incalculable," E! prexy-CEO Ted Harbert said in a statement. "As 'The Howard Stern Show' evolves into a premium service, it is time for our latenight programming to evolve as well."
Stern has an existing relationship with Spike, having set up the 13-episode animated series "Howard Stern: The High School Years" for next year (Daily Variety, Aug. 18).
"The Howard Stern Show" could help Spike more quickly rebound from the loss of World Wrestling Entertainment -- the cabler's biggest ratings draw -- and balance out the female-leaning skew of its "CSI" repeats.
DM added: Stern also has some history with Harbert. Both are graduates of Boston U. and attended the school at the same time.
from howardstern.com
June 21, 2005
Howard took a call from regular caller, Bobo, who had just heard that the E! show had been cancelled. Howard said he would keep quiet for another week or two, but did say that his contract with E! was up soon. He said he had a great story to tell, but needed to wait a few weeks before he could tell it. E! show Executive Producer, Robin Radzinski, came in to confirm that the last live E! show would be taped on July 1st and the last original E! shows will run the week of July 4th.
from the NY Daily News
June 21, 2005
Inner Tube
Looks like Howard Stern's show on E! Entertainment may be coming to an end.
Word is, the popular late-night telecast will end when Stern's contract with the network expires later this month, according to a source.
A spokesperson for E! had no comment; Stern's agent Don Buchwald did not return a call yesterday.
Stern has repeatedly told his listeners he was unsure what would happen with the E! show, especially since, come January, he's moving to Sirius Satellite Radio.
The half-hour television version of Stern's radio show pulls decent numbers for E!.
It's possible another network could pick up Stern's TV program. Meanwhile, E! network retains the rights to rerun the thousands of shows that have aired in the 10-plus years since E! began carrying Stern.
Marisa Guthrie
from TheFutonCritic.com
May 19, 2005
THE HOWARD STERN SHOW (E!) - Both Spike TV and HBO are reportedly in the running to snag the rights to Howard Stern's nightly series (a collection of highlights from that day's radio broadcast), which has been running on E! since 1994. E!'s contract for the series expires at the end of the summer. Spike, where Stern is developing his animated series "Howard Stern: The High School Years," is said to be the frontrunner to land the show however E! may end of retaining its longtime staple, which runs a whopping 250 original episodes per year.
from fmqb.com
May 16, 2005
E! Networks president and CEO Ted Harbert told the Hollywood Reporter that he was unsure of the program's future, but expected to to know something around the first week of June.
It should be noted that Stern was recently discussing the construction of his new studio at Sirius and that there was an issue over ceiling height to accommodate the lighting needed to film the program. So, while E! might not be the future home of Stern's television program, it is expected that there will be a television outlet for the visual side of The Howard Stern Show.
In an April article in the Los Angeles Times, Brian Roberts, CEO of E! parent company Comcast Corporation, called into question a decision to renew the controversial half-hour program because of the escalating push for indecency regulations in cable television. The comments also came on the heels of remarks made by U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) that those who flagrantly violate FCC indecency standards should be subject to criminal prosecution rather than a regulatory process.
Sneak preview shows: June 18, 1994
Officially Premiered: June 20, 1994
When this show started, Howard's idea was to take the best thing from that day's radio show and then show it that night on tv. This "rule" was used for the first couple of weeks, since obviously there was nothing else to show, but with rare exceptions since then, has not been followed. Lag time from the radio show to when guests finally get on E! is generally at least a of couple weeks, sometimes months. This E! show had a sneak preview which aired June 18, 1994.
As for these lists, click on the year you want to see. You can also call 213-954-2750, option 3, on Monday afternoon's to get a recording of what's scheduled for the coming week on the E! Show. I update the current list every Friday evening/Saturday morning, the others less frequently - mainly just to update a discription here and there. I don't have these for sale, so don't bother emailing to ask about buying them!
(These are the in-studio guest lists for the first-run 11:00pm Eastern time shows, (repeated 3 hours later), currently running on E!, not the repeats shown at other times.
Missing dates are either repeats, weekends, vacation/sick days for Howard or were interrupted by E!)
| 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 |
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
| 2004 | 2005 | (future) | (future) | (future) |
from Media Life
March 12, 2003
--snips--
The only E! show to place among 18-34s, 18-49s or 25-54s last week was "Howard Stern." It finished No. 35 and tied for 49 among 18-34s.
--snips--
from: Excite UK
March 24, 1999
These are the listings for the original airings of the Howard Stern Radio Show, showing in most of the country on Saturday night in direct competition with Saturday Night Live, not the repeated shows. Missing dates are either repeats or were interrupted by CBS. I don't have these for sale, so don't bother emailing to ask about buying them!
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
If those are the guest lists for the second E! Show, did you ever wonder about the first E! Show? Well, back in 1992-93, (premiere date: Nov. 27, 1992), Howard did a 1/2 hour interview show, called The Howard Stern "Interview," that aired Friday nights on, what was back then, the fledgling E! network. Howard's contract for this show was for 36 shows for $1.1 million. These shows were produced in the time period between the WWOR show and the release of the book "Private Parts." Needless to say, it very quickly became the highest rated show on the network, as well as putting the E! network on the map, but what was even more significant was that it showed Howard could carry a show all by himself without the rest of "the gang" from the radio show. Anyway, it was a rather sparse set, just Howard and his guest sitting on a couch. The E! stage crew could be heard in the background during most shows. These shows have never been repeated, (except for the Phil Hartman episode), so drop a line to E! to get them to rerun them if you want. Very intimate, and very funny. I don't have these for sale, so don't bother emailing to ask about buying them!
In no particular order, (except for Garry Shandling, who was the first guest) here is the complete guest list:
Garry Shandling, Flavor Flav, John Bon Jovi & Ritchie Sambora, Willie Nelson, Richard Lewis,
James Brown & Al Sharpton, Maury Povich, Chuck Norris, Janice Ian, Mario Van Peebles, Boy
George, Penn & Teller, Melissa Gilbert, Phil Hartman, Belinda Carlisle, Rip Torn, Milton Berle,
Jason Priestley, Tom Jones, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Suzanne Vega, Geraldo Rivera, Moon Unit Zappa (and
Frank on the telephone), Patty Smythe, Grace Slick, Joan Rivers, Andrew "Dice" Clay, Robin
Leach, KISS (Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley), Richard Marx, Don King, Fabio, Donald Trump, Dick
Cavett and Marg Helgenberger.
Everyone asks about these shows all the time. They were on in 1990-92, (premiere in New York: July 14, 1990, syndication started in January 1991, and production ended in July 1992), based at WWOR-TV, which is in Secaucus, New Jersey, just across the river from New York City. They were syndicated around the country every week, usually playing on Saturday nights on independent stations. In New York, they regularly beat Saturday Night Live in the ratings. Many people consider these shows the high point of Howard's career. They have never been repeated, as WWOR owns the rights to them and they've never released them to Howard or anyone else. Many, many people have tapes of these shows, so if there's one you may want to get, alt.fan.howard-stern is the place to ask.
A big thanks to Sergio for finding and editing down the lists to a more manageable size. I don't have these for sale, so don't bother emailing to ask about buying them!
| Shows #1-20 | Shows #21-39 | Shows #40-59 | Shows #60-69 |
Howard also did 5 pilot episodes for an abortive late-night show for FOX Television. This was around the time (May 1987) Joan Rivers had her show on FOX. These tapes are somewhat rare, as they were never aired on FOX (or anywhere else for that matter), but they are still around. To find them, post a note in alt.fan.howard-stern and someone will help you out. I don't have these for sale, so don't bother emailing to ask about buying them!
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