New York
—
Howard Stern pranked his followers and the media Monday about leaving his longtime SiriusXM radio present.
Bravo host Andy Cohen appeared on the high of Stern’s 7 a.m. time slot, asserting that he was taking on the channel and rebranding it as “Andy 100.” Multiple media shops, together with CNBC, Variety and the Associated Press, revealed reviews that Stern was leaving the radio community.
However, Stern got here again on air about 10 minutes later, asserting that it was a hoax. He criticized inaccurate reviews within the media about his employment standing throughout his summer time hiatus, calling them “bad rumors.”
The information briefly despatched SiriusXM (SIRI) shares down practically 2% in premarket buying and selling, earlier than rebounding.
The prank comes as his future with SiriusXM stays unclear after signing a 5-year deal in 2020. Stern had beforehand stated he would handle his future final week, however pushed it again every week to this Monday due to an sickness.
“What pisses me off is now I can’t leave,” Stern joked. “I’ve been thinking about retiring. Now I can’t.”
He hasn’t formally said his future with the corporate, however stated talks with the executives have been “fantastic” and he’s “very happy at Sirius.”
Stern learn headlines and aired TV clips of networks falling for the hoax. He additionally talked about a report a few supposed feud with Alex Cooper, the favored podcaster who struck a $125 million deal final yr with SiriusXM.
“I don’t know Alex Cooper,” he stated. “If she is young and bubbly, then God bless her because I’m the opposite.”
Also, all through the morning, Stern warned his followers he won’t seem the remainder of the week due to a chilly, tampering hypothesis about his employment standing.
SiriusXM has undergone a number of rounds of layoffs over the previous few years, together with decreasing spending on content material and advertising. Shares are down practically 60% over the previous 5 years.
Stern left terrestrial radio in 2006, making shockwaves in media and becoming a member of then Sirius Satellite Radio (earlier than it merged with XM Radio) in a $500 million deal.