4. Howard Stern can't go back to free stations because of the FCC. He likely would "chafe at being censored again…" "his racy banter isn't subject to federal restrictions…"
When Howard left traditional broadcast radio five years ago, the big story in the press was that his show couldn't survive without the FCC as his principle villain. It was also claimed that without the restrictions, he wouldn't be funny and his show would get too X rated. After Howard settled into Sirius, the press then had a field day with the fact that Howard's audience had shrunk enormously, thus proving the first two points.
Of course, Howard did survive without an FCC villain and his show is funnier than ever. The number of listeners obviously dropped because people had to pay rather than listen for free. But by every objective measure, his move to Sirius was enormously successful. He made a ton of money, Sirius got millions of subscribers, and his true fans got a great show with less commercials and 24 hours of bonus programming.
However, now that Howard has the option of returning to traditional radio, no one in the press is bringing up these original points anymore. While Howard survived without an FCC villain for five years, wouldn't it be funny to hear him rail about it if he went back? "I can't believe I went back to free radio! I can't even say the s-word for poop anymore!" I think it would be funny and interesting. As far as X-rated content, we've had five years of Sal's penis running around, and Sybian vibrator rides, that stuff eventually does get old. Howard can find other funny gags to replace them, and might even welcome the change up.
Despite FCC fines and complaints, Howard was an expert for over a decade in broadcast radio of knowing exactly where the lines were and how to break them, bend them, and run around them. He could very easily slip back into a censored show if he wanted to. That is, if the money was good enough. He would also be able to reach more fans, and it might be an interesting challenge that would be fun for his hard core fans to listen to.
Finally, Howard's biggest problems with the FCC came from the fact that he had a very conservative Bush administration that was actively out to get him. It's unlikely Howard would face the same kind of censorship pressure from an Obama administration run FCC. Also, Howard was not fully supported by the broadcast stations he was being played on, because they had other conservative agendas (political ones) and business agenda's (merging with more stations) and wanted to suck up to the government. They also fell for the myth, now proven wrong, that Howard could be replaced. The huge ratings drop that followed his move to Sirius proved that wrong. Also, the most conservative station groups have failed in the over merging and desperately need someone like Howard Stern to bring back profits.
If a new station group signed up Howard to return to free broadcast radio, they would know exactly what they were paying for. Howard's new contract could have clauses forcing them to actively fight for him in court (which would make for good ratings). We're in a new political climate and the world has changed a lot since Howard was last on the traditional airwaves (gay marriage anyone?). FCC censorship would not be a big problem for Howard if the money being offered was good enough for him to dump Sirius.
Next, we'll examine the last big lie about Howard's contract negotiations: that he can't retire.
Stay tuned.
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