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Howard makes a Sirius pitch
Shock jock gives away hundreds of satellite radio boomboxes as he predicts the 'death of the FCC.'
December 9, 2004: 12:39 PM EST
By Steve Hargreaves, CNN/Money staff writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Shock jock Howard Stern made his latest pitch to drum up support for his switch to satellite radio by giving away hundreds of free Sirius Satellite Radio boomboxes Thursday.

Thousands of fans chanting "Howard! Howard!" under the direction of midriff-baring cheerleaders turned out to get the free goods in Manhattan's Union Square and hear Stern make his case for listeners to pay for radio.

"This will be dominant form of media because there is no government regulation," said Stern. "It's the death of the FCC. They have ruined commercial broadcasting -- down with the FCC!"

Stern gave away 500 boombox units and thousands of certificates for free radios from a mobile stage adorned with American flags while Ozzy Osborne's 'Crazy Train' and Rage Against the Machine blared from giant side speakers.

"I want them to experience radio the way it should be," said Stern. "20 years ago I got into radio and it sucked. I went and I made a different kind of radio and now the FCC is dismantling it. It isn't right. It's gonna stop. Satellite radio is the future."

Stern's listeners were ecstatic about the free radios and joined in the anti-FCC banter.

One middle aged man with a shaggy grey beard in the front row held a near-life size doll of Stern, bloody, with its head cut off. The shirt on the doll read "Howard -- An FCC beheading."

'I'm going out (to get the radio) as soon as I get my certificate," said long-time Stern listener Dan Retta. When asked if he'd continue listening to Stern if the radios weren't free, Retta replied "Oh, Definitely. I'd pay for Howard any day of the week."

Fan with Stern effigy  
Fan with Stern effigy

That's just the mentality Sirius executives are banking on.

After repeated crossings with the Federal Communications Commission, Stern said in October he would leave Viacom's (Research) Infinity Broadcasting to host a show on Sirius (up $0.34 to $7.24, Research) beginning in 2006. The deal netted Stern a five-year, $500 million contract.

The radios Stern was handing out reportedly sell for $99 but listeners will have to fork over another $12.95 a month for the subscription.  Top of page




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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.