SiriusXM Stresses Howard Stern’s Value As Future Remains Unclear.

The fate of Howard Stern’s future remains unknown, with the host promising to tell all next Monday. Amid fresh speculation about Howard Stern’s future, SiriusXM President & Chief Content Officer Scott Greenstein didn’t hedge on the host’s value Wednesday as he spoke at the Bank of America’s Media Conference.

“Howard, for all these years and right up till now, is as important to content, a single piece of content, as we’ve had,” Greenstein said. “He’s the best interviewer out there, period, you know, bar none.”

Stern previously had a reported five-year $500 million pact with the company, where he has called home since 2006. For SiriusXM, the stakes are high. Stern’s multi-hundred-million-dollar deal has long been justified as a driver of subscriber retention and brand identity. But with analysts questioning how much longer the platform can sustain such costs, speculation about his eventual exit has become a recurring storyline.

“We’d love him to stay. It certainly has to make sense, but we feel pretty good that we’ve done this before, and we’ll see where it goes,” Greenstein told investors.

Reports have surfaced that the 71-year-old radio legend has inked a lucrative new contract with SiriusXM, described as a “monster payday.” There was no confirmation, however.

“He’s been core to our platform for over 20 years, so I’m confident we’ll get to the right place,” CEO Jennifer Witz said.

Measuring ROI On Big-Name Talent

Stern has long been seen as a big expense, but also a way to grow SiriusXM’s subscriber base. Asked how the company evaluates renewals and rate cards, Greenstein said SiriusXM looks at both “quantitative and qualitative” metrics.

“We’ll look at hours listened, ad revenue, social media and publicity, which is basically in-kind free marketing,” explained Greenstein. Qualitatively, he said the team asks what a personality “means to the service” and to specific audience segments. And Greenstein cited Stephen A. Smith as an example of a deliberate bet on talent after the company inked the sports personality to a deal in June.

“He’s emerged as probably the leading voice in sports.” Greenstein said, adding the payoff spans “subscriber value,” ad revenue on his channel, a political show, and “podcast revenue as well.”

Witz said SiriusXM now brings far more data to the table when valuing content.

“We look at metrics for any individual piece of content, like cost per listener or cost per listening hour,” she said—then layer in research to capture perceived value. “The fact that you get into the car, you love the NFL, and your team is playing, and you know you can find it on SiriusXM has a lot of value for us,” said Witz.

Podcasting: A “Math Exercise” — With Extensions Into Channels & Video

Podcasting is a way that SiriusXM is increasingly leveraging its reach as well as its relationships with talent. SiriusXM executives told investors they are approaching podcast acquisitions and renewals with a heavy focus on data and predictable returns. “It’s a lot less of a guess and much more science – almost like a math exercise,” Greenstein said. For large shows that already have built-in audiences, he said SiriusXM can “roughly tell” what potential revenue streams are.

He cited Unwell and Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast as examples of properties that not only deliver podcast listening but also spin off companion channels. “Unwell created a 24-hour music channel for us — and Conan O’Brien has a top-20 podcast, but also has a channel with us,” Greenstein said. He also acknowledged the growing role of video in podcasting.

“Video has become a major player in YouTube, obviously, in podcasting,” Greenstein said. “Over time, we have to figure out what we’re going to do there.”

Podcasting has given SiriusXM another channel to present to advertisers, with its second-quarter podcast ad revenue up nearly 50%. Witz also highlighted the Creator Connect product, which lets brands buy alongside a creator, whether they are buying the audio, video, or social feed.

On current conditions, Witz said she is “cautiously optimistic.” She said the third quarter started a “little soft,” but “the last few weeks have been a bit more solid,” with strength in tech, telco, CPG, and pharma, and retail “starting to step up” ahead of the holidays.

Greenstein added that opening up sponsorships around SiriusXM’s long-running live events —often superstar performers in intimate venues — has also begun to “generate real money.”

Improved revenue trends and cost-cutting has allowed raise its free cash flow guidance for 2025 by $50 million to approximately $1.2 billion. Witz also told the investor conference they are reiterating revenue guidance of approximately $8.5 billion for the year and earnings of approximately $2.6 billion.” “We feel really good about those numbers,” she said.