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02-09-2006, 03:05 AM
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#1 of 4 
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Ronald Epstein
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Join Date: Jul 1997
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Local Date: 10-11-2008
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Editorial: Stern Warning: O&A funnier than Howard
http://www.torchonline.com/vnews/dis.../43ea6c476c413
February 08, 2006
Howard Stern has been getting enormous publicity for his jump from terrestrial radio to Sirius satellite radio. Of course, that would not surprise the self-professed “King of All Media” and his minions.
But Stern, the frizzy haired, pock-marked shock jock, isn’t exactly recreating the wheel in his transition from K-Rock in New York (now 92.3 Free FM) to pay radio. Though he would have you believe he is the originator, the revolutionary, and the innovator.
The truth is there have been many who made the tranition before him — particularly XM radio duo Opie and Anthony. Gregg Hughes (Opie) and Anthony Cumia have been doing fresher, more entertaining and more topical shows than Stern for years. Stern’s idea of a good show on K-Rock? Whine about the FCC, have a stripper take off her clothes, make fun of a celebrity in the news, and cry about his parent company, Infinity Broadcasting. Lather, rinse, repeat.
On XM, Opie and Anthony have kept the female nudity to a minimum. One can not decide whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. One can’t deny that the two are funnier and more talented than Stern ever was. If Stern innovated this genre of talk radio, Opie and Anthony took it to the next level. Their discussions are reminiscent of friends sitting at a bar and talking over a few beers. They occasionally have females participate in lewd acts, but the air of camaraderie and humor is extremely prevalent. Stern, on the other hand, has been prone to talking down to his listeners.
Yet Howard still gets immense amounts of press after anything he says.
Stern and his merry band of freaks and sycophants started on Sirius on Jan. 6, 2006. Opie and Anthony? Oct. 4, 2004.
You might remember O&A from a notoriously unfortunate incident from a few years back. They are the twosome who initiated the radio contest that resulted in a couple having sex in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. That incident got Opie and Anthony show canceled from WNEW (102.7) After their contract expired in June 2004, the Long Island natives and their sidekick, comedian Jim Norton, signed on with XM.
So obviously Stern is not the first so-called shock jock to infiltrate satellite airwaves. But why is he getting much more publicity?
Well that’s easy. Stern has an incredible following of diehard fans all over America. Opie and Anthony have a more modest collection of what they call “pests.”
But O&A have had a huge start in satellite. XM has more than six million subscribers, Sirius has about three million. XM’s technology is far superior: the company is already working on its third generation portable radio, whereas Sirius has yet to put out its first on-the-go unit.
The reason for this is the unbelievable cash Sirius is giving Stern: a ridiculous contract for five years and $500 million.
But the amount of money Stern gets does not have to correlate evenly to the entertainment of his show. He might have owned America’s commercial airwaves for the better part of 20 years. But satellite radio? He and Sirius will have a hard time overtaking O&A and XM
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02-09-2006, 06:53 PM
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#2 of 4
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Member
Join Date: Nov 1998
Local Time: 11:50 AM
Local Date: 10-11-2008
Posts: 494
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Well, I have to disagree with one thing this 'editor' mentioned, and that is about Stern not breaking any new ground by going to Satellite. Yes, O&A went there first, but that is because they HAD to. They were fired and as far as I know couldn't get hired anywhere else. Stern is the first jock who left a very successful radio following to go to satellite on his own accord. Whether you want to admit it or not, there is a difference.
This is coming from a fan of both O&A and Stern. But I only pay to listen to one of them...
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02-09-2006, 07:36 PM
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#3 of 4
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Local Time: 07:50 AM
Local Date: 10-11-2008
Posts: 3,951
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Quote:
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They were fired and as far as I know couldn't get hired anywhere else.
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They claim that they had other companies very interested in them, but they could not go anywhere because they were still under contract with Infinity for two years after their show was taken off the air (one of the main theories being that Infinity contiuned to pay them the full amount of their contract because they did not want them going to another company and being competition.) They claim that Sirius was interested in them as well but they went with XM because they found XM to be a better fit for them. I don't know what the exact truth is, but they were doing very well at WNEW at the time their show was cancelled so it wouldn't surprise me if what they say is the truth. |
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02-10-2006, 03:11 AM
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#4 of 4
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Ronald Epstein
Owner
Join Date: Jul 1997
Local Time: 07:50 AM
Local Date: 10-11-2008
Posts: 23,420
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O&A were being courted by at least two FM radio
stations after being fired at WNEW. As mentioned
above, they were still under contract so could not
take any job offers.
SIRIUS was the first satellite radio company to go
after Opie and Anthony. After touring the studio
and talking with execs there, the boys declined. The
reason? Sirius technology was extremely lacking and
O&A saw a better opportunity with XM, a company who
was farther ahead in both technology and subscribers.
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