HOWARD Stern has scored a juicy HBO Max deal for his SiriusXM show, which is undergoing some new, top-secret changes.
Multiple sources confirmed to The U.S. Sun that Stern has quietly landed a major deal with the streamer to take video from his new episodes to use in a weekly TV show.
The plan, however, means Stern’s live filming schedule will not be as fluid as it seemed in recent years.
“Stern will be doing the live shows strictly on Mondays,” one source said.
“Thats why he isn’t starting this year on the Tuesday after Labor Day like he usually does.
“This is a very strict schedule for him to be able to use that show’s video for HBO Max.”
The insider said that HBO Max will use the best of Stern’s three-hour live show each week, which will be condensed into either a 90-minute or an hour-long show to air on the subscription service later in the week.
Despite HBO relying on the visuals of Stern’s radio show for this venture, one insider said fans shouldn’t expect the shock jock, who has come into the New York City studio only a handful of times since the pandemic, to suddenly go to the office.
It is unclear whether the weekly broadcast will be streamed to Stern’s YouTube channel at some point, either in it’s entirety or in parts.
Another insider compared the HBO Max deal to a similar arrangement the late Don Imus once had.
“The deal with HBO Max is not surprising. Imus did something similar with MSNBC at the end of his career, too, so the blueprint was already there for Howard to cash in on it,” the quipped.
The U.S. Sun reached out to HBO Max and reps for Stern’s SiriusXM show for comment.
This all comes on the heels of The U.S. Sun exclusively confirming that Stern’s archival channel, Howard 101, will be officially dropped come Monday.
Stern fans tuning in to Howard 101 will be in for a shock as his rival Andy Cohen takes over the frequency, with Radio Andy moving into its new home.
Historically, Stern’s setup on SiriusXM was split across two channels: Howard 100 for brand-new broadcasts and Howard 101 for classic vault material and old interviews.
Insiders previously told The U.S. Sun that the writing was on the wall for the archival channel after rounds of layoffs wiped out over a third of the team, hitting the staff running Howard 101 the hardest.
“A lot the staff who were laid off in the first round worked for his 101 channel,” a source noted, adding that many employees originally thought their jobs were safe because the archives were meant to live on long after Stern retired.
Then came another wave of cuts in July, alongside a video call where the remaining crew learned Stern’s live schedule was getting chopped down to just one day a week.
The announcement signaled a massive shift for the show’s future.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/16914547/howard-stern-reveals-siriusxm-changes-hbo-max-deal/
