from Brachman.com
November 26, 2001
Howard Stern can scream, yell and kvetch as much as he wants. He can trash talk CBS head nincompoop Leslie "American teenagers want a show with Bette Midler" Moonves as much as he wants. Robin, as she is prone to do, can chime in, too.
The bottom line, however, is simple. Howard Stern caused the failure of his own Saturday night television show.
How did this happen?
Howard, once again, was unwilling to spend a penny of the fortune he is paid annually to help make his Saturday night entry a winner.
People like David Letterman and Jay Leno dip into their own pockets to occasionally pick up the tab on miscellaneous projects for their programs. Oh sure, they battle the networks plenty, but when you're paid the kind of fortune Stern, Letterman and Leno make, what the hell, it's a tax write off anyway.
(Currently, Howard Stern's twenty million dollars per year makes him a bigger earner than either Leno or Letterman.)
So, Howard refuses to make the program more than just a hodge-podge - reruns of reruns of reruns.
We noted that at one point, the program that was supposed to compete with Saturday Night Live and MAD TV had become, as a result of repetition, an unintended tribute to former Howard Stern side-kick and staff writer Jackie Martling.
Think of it. Howard has a chance to defeat the utterly annoying waste of time known as Saturday Night Live. The proof of how truly mediocre this program has become is in the fact that its staff and dorkmeister, holier-than-thou producer, Lorne Michaels, keeps dishing out one dismal box office failure after another.
As for Saturday Night Live itself, if you find three good skits in its weekly ninety minutes of rot, you've done well.
MAD TV is an underdog and tries harder; I like it, though it, too, can improve.
Howard could have defeated them both by simply doing original work on a weekly basis, and nuking that utter and complete waste of time nightly "show" on E.
Rather than have a daily vanity program that often spoils the fantasies he creates on his radio show, rather than have a nightly program that often seems to be videotaped in an amateurish fashion, complete with poor lighting.
Howard could have had a once-a-week unbeatable program of his best material for the entire week-- plus the aforementioned original bits just for the Saturday night audience.
But no, no. Howard decided he would do nothing, spend nothing. Well, guess what? You get what you pay for. To just criticize his competition on the morning radio program and think that CBS would offer up some huge budget (when none had been negotiated) when the Saturday night program is nothing more than unused snippets from E programming hash- Howard, what were you thinking?
Make no mistake, Howard Stern is very talented. The Saturday night outing should have been something you either stay home and watch, or record.
What were you thinking?
-- Brachman
from the NY Daily News
November 19, 2001
Although CBS subsidiary King World TV dropped "The Howard Stern Radio Show" last week, network stations are considering for the same midnight hour a sitcom under development by Stern's production company.
Titled "Kane," Stern's proposed show revolves around a Southern patriarch who is surrounded by eccentric children and a previously long-lost wife. It could arrive in his old slot in the first half of next year.
Writer Ron Zimmerman ("The John Larroquette Show") has written a pilot episode, and Stern is expected to serve as its executive producer. The pilot has not yet been shot, according to sources close to the production.
Stern's company produces "Son of the Beach" for FX. Over three years, "The Howard Stern Radio Show" had not set off a ratings sensation for its CBS affiliates, some of which dropped the show after advertisers complained about its content.
In New York, "Radio Show" averaged just 183,000 households this month, according to Nielsen ratings data. By comparison, NBC's "Saturday Night Live" has averaged 460,000 households and reruns of NBC's "ER" on WABC/Ch. 7 have averaged 241,000 households in New York this month.
Stern used news of his show's cancellation to bash CBS chief executive Les Moonves last week on his morning radio show.
"Les Moonves is a snake, and nobody should do business with him," Stern said. "I'm going to the pet store. I'm buying a snake, and I'm going to name him Les Moonves. Les the creep."
Moonves didn't take the bait.
"Leslie is very thick-skinned," said CBS spokesman Chris Ender. "He knows that when you're roasted by Howard, you're roasted by the best."
Donna Petrozzello
from the NY Post
November 15, 2001
November 15, 2001 -- KING World has canned "The Howard Stern Radio Show" after three years of disappointing ratings and not enough national interest.
The one-hour syndicated show will air its last episode this Saturday (11:45 p.m. on Ch. 2).
The much-ballyhooed show debuted in August 1998 and occasionally beat NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in some markets in the time the two shows went head-to-head.
But "The Howard Stern Radio Show" never quite became a "watercooler" show - one that people talked about at work.
"It did well in urban markets but as time progressed its numbers went down," says industry analyst Marc Berman of Mediaweek.com. "They had a lot of problems clearing the shows in other markets because of its content."
"Radio Show" generated immediate criticism when it debuted after critics and viewers complained its content wasn't much different than Stern's TV show airing on cable's E! network.
Stern listened to the criticism, and added some different elements to the King World show, including animation and graphics.
"We're not talking about a fizzle here - Howard initially did well in New York and Philadelphia and was beating 'SNL,' " Berman says. "But the show was really a lazy attempt to fill an hour in syndication over the weekend.
"The numbers were dropping and obviously it wasn't making a profit - Howard is not big news right now and he's lost a lot of his oomph," Berman says.
"I guess they felt it was time to unload it. They gave him three years - which is more time than a lot of other shows [get]."
Stern's E! show is unaffected by the cancellation of "The Howard Stern Radio Show."
A Ch. 2 spokeswoman says "Sports Wrap," hosted by Gary Apple, will now run from 11:30 p.m. to midnight, with the midnight slot "to be determined."
King World officials had no comment.
from the NY Daily News
November 15, 2001
--snips--
Based on Stern's morning radio show (heard on WXRK-FM 92.3), "The Howard Stern Radio Show" managed only meager ratings during its three-year stint on CBS stations.
Stern's late-night foray did not sit well with some CBS stations, who dropped the series after advertisers complained about racy content.
Donna Petrozz
from Reuters/Variety
November 15, 2001
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Bad news for lesbian strippers and the viewers who love them.
Howard Stern's weekly syndicated latenight series will end its three-year run on Saturday, a possible victim of falling ratings and racy content.
The decision to terminate "The Howard Stern Radio Show" was the shock jock's, said a spokeswoman for syndicator King World. However, insiders said other factors may have come into play.
Among the reasons: King World chairman Roger King has been very vocal about favoring high-quality, family-friendly content, and "Stern" does not fit that bill; in addition, "Stern's" ratings have suffered since its August 1998 debut.
"Stern," which has been in repeats since August this year, debuted on stations representing coverage of 70% of the country in 1998, and the clearance level has dipped since then. In many markets, the show airs on CBS-owned stations. CBS and King World are owned by Viacom Inc.
Since King World does not subscribe to a national ratings service for that show, there is no rating available. However, in the 28 metered markets where the show airs, it has averaged a 1.7 rating so far this season, down 15% compared with this time last year.
King World is among several syndicators looking to develop a new weekly latenight project that would have the potential to occupy the time slot.
E! Entertainment Television's Stern series, "The Howard Stern Show," continues to be a staple nightly on the cable channel, which airs its show at 11. The program, like the syndicated version, features footage from Stern's radio show.
from the Washington Post
November 15, 2001
--snips--
And so ends Howard Stern's brief adventure in broadcast television.
King World, the Viacom division that distributes the Saturday late-night program, confirmed that the Fat Lady will sing for Stern this weekend.
Stern, it appears, is the victim of advertiser antipathy. TV stations simply could not convince enough advertisers to buy time in Stern's late night TV program.
Which is strange, because advertisers can't get enough of his weekday morning radio show.
Yes, there are some advertisers who have an ironclad No Stern Rule, but his syndicated radio show, broadcast out of WXRK in New York City, has no shortage of advertising. With about 20 minutes of commercials per hour, Stern's shows have some of the longest "stop sets," or uninterrupted commercial breaks, in the radio industry, sometimes running up to eight minutes.
Stern's ratings are good, too, for radio. Typically averaging about 2 million listeners a day, Stern is among the top five daily radio personalities, behind Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura. In Washington, among his target demo -- men 25-54 -- Stern usually ranks at the top of the radio pile.
But when it came to the "Howard Stern Radio Show," as his late-night television program was called, because it consisted largely of taped segments from his radio show, Stern didn't click with viewers.
This is because Stern is not fun to look at and, borrowing a line from Post radio columnist Frank Ahrens: It's much better to visualize buxom lesbian stripper midgets than to actually see them.
National ratings on Stern's syndicated television show aren't available because the show, which was carried in 70 percent of the country when it launched, is now seen in so few markets Nielsen doesn't rate it nationally.
King World said the decision to call it quits was Stern's.
Staff writer John Maynard contributed to this report.
from Zap2It
November 14, 2001
The show, a version of Stern's morning radio program, has never been a huge ratings success for its distributor, King World. The company is planning to develop another late-night show to replace Stern, according to Broadcast & Cable magazine.
Videotaped versions of Stern's radio show will continue to run on E! Entertainment Television.
"The Howard Stern Radio Show" premiered in August 1998. It was carried on most stations owned and operated by CBS, although a few dropped the show shortly after its debut, citing concerns that Stern's sex-obsessed shtick was too racy for them.
from Broadcasting & Cable
November 14, 2001
Although the show, based on his radio show for co-owned Infinity, was cleared on a number of CBS O&O’s, it had never been a ratings powerhouse.
King World is reportedly looking to develop a new, late night weekend series to replace it.
E! continues to run two episodes of its half-hour episodes of its own late night video version of Stern’s drive-time radio show at 11-12 p.m.
The Howard Stern Radio Show launched on CBS O&O's and a handful of other stations in August 1998, with most stations carrying it on Saturday nights at 11:30 to try and eat into the audience of NBC's Saturday Night Live franchise.
A handful of stations dropped the show soon after, citing content concerns.
But even those conceded that the show had brought new viewers to the timeslot and improved on the ratings performance of the shows, mostly syndicated reruns, that had previously occupied the time period.
Stern had trumpeted the CBS show the previous April, saying it would contain the same scatological humor as his radio show.
When asked by reporters whether such a show could air on the Tiffany network (though technically it was not on the network, but syndicated by it), Stern replied: 'Tiffany is a stripper's name.'
Stern also had a syndicated TV show, The Howard Stern Show, on WWOR-TV (distributed by All American Television) that ran from 1991 to 1993. -- Joe Schlosser and John Eggerton
from Media Life
November 14, 2001
Stern's radio gig at CBS/Infinity Broadcasting nearly came to an end last December, but he was able to negotiate a new five-year deal at the last second.
from Electronic Media
November 5, 2001
Changes brewing for the 2002 syndication season could mean the cancellation of "Howard Stern" and an added dose of Regis Philbin.
King World Productions may be developing a late-night series designed to replace airings of "The Howard Stern Radio Show" on the CBS owned-and-operated stations, sources say. Although a King World spokesperson would not comment on any upcoming changes, station sources and other insiders say the weekly Stern series may be on its last legs with the company due to advertiser troubles.
The series managed to pull strong numbers in the key demographics for the CBS station group, where it has earned a 1.7 household rating and 5 share thus far this season, with coverage just under 50 percent of the country. Still, advertisers have continued to shy away from the program, prompting its broadcasters to seek a way out of the show. Instead, King World may be considering a new series designed to appeal to the same audience through a deal being negotiated with producer Eddie October.
King World currently has daytime strip "Dr. Phil" cleared in 90 percent of the country for the 2002 season, joining "Weakest Link," "$100,000 Pyramid" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" as early cleared strips. "Millionaire," meanwhile, is rumored to be close to locking in prime-time host Regis Philbin as its daytime talent as well. Although a Disney spokesperson would only confirm that Mr. Philbin is on the short list and that no negotiations are taking place, stations are said to be not-so-quietly hoping that he takes hosting duties, especially with fewer prime-time versions being aired on ABC.
--snips--
from Broadcasting & Cable
December 15, 2000
--snips--
September 6, 2000
Howard announced this morning the CBS Saturday night show has been picked up for another seasaon!
As part of the CBS/Viacom merger....
Howard Stern's Saturday night television show picks up 12 new markets as part of a mandate for a Paramount/Viacom owned UPN stations to carry the show. This action is similar to the existing mandate that all Viacom owned CBS stations carry the show.
Here are the new markets (UPN affliates)
Atlanta Columbus Dallas Houston Indianapolis New Orleans Norfolk Oklahoma City Sacramento Seattle Tampa Washington
Here is the full station list:
Alexandria, MN: Ch. 7 KCCO (cbs) 12:35 am Atlanta, GA: Ch. 69 WUPA (upn) midnight STARTING SEPT. 23 NEW! Baltimore, MD: Ch. 13 WJZ (cbs) 11:35 pm Boston, MA: Ch. 4 WBZ (cbs) 11:30 pm Buffalo, NY: Ch. 29 WUTV (fox) midnight Chicago, IL: Ch. 2 WBBM (cbs) 10:40 pm Columbus, OH: Ch. 53 WWHO (upn) midnight NEW! Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX: Ch. 21 KTXA (upn) 10 pm NEW! Detroit, MI: Ch. 62 WWJ (cbs) midnight Fort Myers/Naples, FL: Ch. 10 WEVU (upn) 11 pm Fresno, CA: Ch. 53 KAIL (upn) 11 pm Houston, TX: Ch. 20 KXTH (upn) midnight STARTING SEPT. 16 NEW! Indianapolis, IN: Ch. 23 WNDY (upn) 2:30 pm NEW! Las Vegas, NV: Ch. 8 KLAS (cbs) 11:30 pm Los Angeles, CA: Ch. 2 KCBS (cbs) 11:30 pm Madison, WI: Ch. 57 WHPN (upn) 10:30 pm Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Ch. 4 WFOR (cbs) midnight Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN: Ch. 4 WCCO (cbs) 12:35 am New Orleans, LA: Ch. 54 WUPL (upn) midnight NEW! New York, NY: Ch. 2 WCBS (cbs) 11:30 pm Norfolk, VA: Ch. 27 WGNT (upn) midnight NEW! Oklahoma City, OK: Ch. 25 KAUT (upn) midnight STARTING SEPT. 16 NEW! Philadelphia, PA: Ch. 3 KYW (cbs) 11:30 pm Pittsburgh, PA: Ch. 2 KDKA (cbs) 12:35 pm Providence, RI: Ch. 28 WLWC (wb) 11 pm Sacramento CA: Ch. 31 WMAX (upn) 11 pm NEW! San Francisco/San Jose, CA: Ch. 5 KPIX (cbs) 11:30 pm Seattle, WA: Ch. 11 KSTW (upn) midnight NEW! Tampa/St. Pete, FL: Ch. 44 WTOG (upn) 11 PM NEW! Washington, DC: Ch. 20 WDCA (upn) 11 PM NEW! West Palm Beach/Ft. Pierce, FL: Ch. 34 WTVX (upn)
Station list thanks to Lu13Cifer
Since the Howard Stern Radio Show is back on the air, the item just below is obviously someone's wishful thinking...
May 9, 2000
According to a source at E!, The Howard Stern CBS Show will not be renewed for the Fall of 2000.
CBS is developing a new show for the Saturday time slot.
From a CBS press release
In August 1998, THE HOWARD STERN RADIO SHOW premiered with a mission impossible - to bring hard-to-reach young male viewers to Saturday late night television.
One year later, the series has accomplished that mission, posting a phenomenal +1025 percent growth in young viewership in the time periods on the stations airing the series. (Source: Nielsen M18-34, May 1998 vs. May 1999) On Saturday, Aug. 21 (11:30PM-12:30AM in many markets; check local listings), THE HOWARD STERN RADIO SHOW will debut its second season on the 12 CBS owned television stations that launched it, as well as stations of all affiliations across the United States.
In March 1999, creative changes to the late night program prompted Entertainment Weekly to declare: "Howard Stern's Saturday night is more than all right with a retooled Radio Show," calling the format "...new and vastly improved" with "...behind-the-scenes snippets and a rapid-fire barrage of celebrity interviews." THE HOWARD STERN RADIO SHOW combines the best of Stern's daily morning radio show and original content developed specifically for each edition. Among the weekly features are candid celebrity interviews, inspired animated vignettes, original comedy segments and behind-the-scenes peeks at Stern's radio family - including Robin Quivers, Fred Norris, Jackie Martling and Gary "Baba Booey" Dell'Abate.
Among the highlights scheduled for the season premiere on August 21 are Stern's interviews with Dennis Rodman and Tori Spelling; a new edition of "Homeless Jeopardy," featuring homeless New York City contestants vying for a $10,000 cash prize; "Stuttering John Goes Undercover," featuring the Wack Pack member in drag interviewing unsuspecting celebrities, and "KC at the Gay Pride Parade." Also featured are new installments of the animated "Dirty Jokeman."
THE HOWARD STERN RADIO SHOW was created by the CBS owned television stations as a way to become more competitive with young viewers in Saturday late night. Beginning with its premiere and throughout its first season, the series has fulfilled its goal. Since its premiere on Aug. 22, 1998, THE HOWARD STERN RADIO SHOW has proven to be a ratings winner for the CBS Television Stations by generating double and triple increases in the much-desired young male demographics versus the same time periods the previous year. On average, the series improved the time periods for the CBS stations by +513 percent among Men 18-34, +231 percent among Men 18-49, and ranked 1 or 2 in both demographics. The series also ranked 1 or 2 among young male viewers in the time period in each market.
Following are some highlights of Stern's performance on the CBS owned stations among young male viewers since its debut:
WCBS-TV New York - Stern ranked 1 in all three sweeps periods in Men 18-34, vs. fifth place the previous year, and improved the time period by +271 percent. Stern improved the time period by +208 percent in Men 18-49.
KCBS-TV Los Angeles - Stern ranked 2 in all three sweeps in Men 18-34, vs. sixth place the previous year. Stern improved the time period by +350 percent in Men 18-34 and +174 percent in Men 18-49.
WBBM-TV Chicago - Stern ranked 1 in all three major sweeps among Men 18-34, vs. sixth place in the time period the previous year. Stern improved the time period by +710 percent in Men 18-34 and +288 percent in Men 18-49.
KYW-TV Philadelphia - Stern ranked 1 in all three sweeps among Men 18-34 and Men 18-49, vs. sixth place the previous year. Stern improved the time period by +1347 percent in Men 18-34 and +310 percent in Men 18-49 vs. the previous year.
KPIX-TV San Francisco - Stern ranked a strong 2 in all three major sweeps among Men 18-34, vs. sixth place the previous year. Additionally, Stern improved the time period by +927 percent in Men 18-34 and +510 percent in Men 18-49.
WBZ-TV Boston - Stern ranked 2 in both key demographics, improving the time period vs. the previous year by +354 percent in Men 18-34 and +213 percent in Men 18-49.
WWJ-TV Detroit - Stern improves the time period vs. the previous year by +525 percent among Men 18-34 and +327 percent among Men 18-49.
WCCO-TV Minneapolis - Stern ranked 1 in the time period in both key male demographics. Additionally, Stern improved the time period by +184 percent in Men 18-34 and +132 percent in Men 18-49 vs. the previous year.
WFOR-TV Miami - Stern is ranked 1 among Men 18-34 and Men 18-49. Compared to the previous year, Stern improved the time period by +557 percent in Men 18-34 and +169 percent in Men 18-49.
KDKA-TV Pittsburgh - Stern ranked 1 among Men 18-34 and Men 18-49. Stern improved +161 percent in Men 18-34 and +162 percent in Men 18-49.
WJZ-TV Baltimore - Stern is ranked 2 overall in the time period for the station, which was in fourth place the previous year. Additionally, Stern ranked 1 among Men 18-49, up from fourth place the previous year and improved time time period in that demo by +135 percent.
The second season of THE HOWARD STERN RADIO SHOW continues to be syndicated in the U.S. beyond the CBS owned stations by EYEMARK Entertainment, the domestic distribution division of CBS Television. These stations enjoyed identical ratings success, particularly with young male viewers. Overall, the syndicated stations saw a +625 percent gain in Men 18-34 and a +425 percent gain in Men 18-49 for the May 1999 sweeps vs. the May 1998 time period. In the markets where it followed MadTV, THE HOWARD STERN RADIO SHOW grew on its lead-in by +44 percent in Men 18-34 and +50 percent in Men 18-49.
Other May 1999 highlights from non-CBS Television Stations markets:
KAIL-TV Fresno (UPN) - Stern has grown to 1 in the time period among Men 18-34 and 2 among Men 18-49, improving over its lead-in, "The Jerry Springer Show," by +380 percent in Men 18-34 and +500 percent with Men 18-49.
KLAS-TV Las Vegas (Fox) - Stern ranks 1 in the time period, outperforming "Saturday Night Live" in Men 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, and improve on May 1998 programming by +5200 percent with Men 18-34.
WKCF-TV Orlando (WB) - Stern outperforms "Saturday Night Live" and ranks 1 in the time period among Men 18-34, which is a boost of +900 percent vs. May 1998.
WLWC-TV Providence (WB) - Stern, which ranks 1 in the time period for Men 18-34, built on the station's Jerry Springer lead-in by +263 percent with that demo.
Scott Einziger, who joined the series as Executive Producer in February 1999 and was involved in the development and launch of the new format last Spring, continues as Executive Producer for the second season.
THE HOWARD STERN RADIO SHOW is a production of Visual Frontier, Inc. and Eyemark Entertainment Productions, Inc.
from the: NY Daily News
July 1, 1999
Television Column
--Snips--
--Richard Huff
from: Radio Digest
June 28, 1999
By Tomm Looney
from the: NY Daily News
June 24, 1999
Howard Stern's syndicated television show has hit a new ratings low, according to the latest Nielsen statistics.
For the week ending June 13, a rerun of "The Howard Stern Radio Show," Stern's weekly TV effort, fell 25% from the previous week, to a worst-ever 0.9 rating (percentage of the nation's 99.4 million homes).
Compared with its much-hyped launch episode last August, the show, which airs here Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. on WCBS/Ch. 2, has fallen 67%.
The program, which is primarily a compilation of moments from Stern's radio show, launched as an alternative to NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and Fox' "Mad TV." But even with its host's supercharged following, it has never made a dent in the national Nielsen department.
One reason for this is that it airs on a limited number of stations. At last count, only 55 outlets were airing the raucous series, down from 79 when the show launched. Some of the stations that bailed out expressed concerns about its contents.
The show's distributor, Eyemark Entertainment - along with executives at the CBS station group (its primary outlets - discounts Stern's national performance. Instead, they focus on the show's relatively inexpensive operating budget and its ability to draw young men.
Indeed, during the May sweeps the show was No. 1 in its time period among its target (male viewers age 18 to 34) in five of the top CBS markets, including New York and Chicago. It was second in four of those markets with the same group.
Likewise, the show's distributors point out that Stern's record low came on the debut weekend for the big-screen "Austin Powers" film, which, of course, was targeted for the same crowd.
"Everybody's thrilled about the show based on the recent May numbers and the performance in all the sweeps," a CBS spokeswoman said.
But generally, programs can't live on strong male Nielsen numbers alone. Then again, "Stern" is not your normal show.
The series was created as a way to boost viewership for CBS' owned stations, which draw slightly older crowds than their competitors. Eyemark distributes it to other stations, but the focus always has been on CBS' owned stations.
If it were a traditional syndicated show, "Stern" wouldn't be back next season. But as long as the CBS stations are benefiting - and they are - it's expected that the show will return.
"We've been selling it for a second season," said an Eyemark spokeswoman, adding that there had been no official announcement of a renewal.
But there are some who think that the show should be canceled.
"No it shouldn't go on and yes it has no merits," said Dick Kurlander, a vice president at Petry TV, which advises stations on program choices. "It's not very salable. There's huge advertiser resistance. I don't see any reason for it to continue."
Kurlander dismisses the show's strong male demographic performance, saying it does a station no good to have big Nielsen numbers if it can't entice advertisers to buy in.
"They're certainly not seeing [those numbers] outside the CBS [owned stations]," Kurlander said. "I'm not sure how it's viable."
More Howard Stern Radio Show News is available here.
Updated: 26-November-2001
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