Howard Stern Extends Contract With Sirius XM for Five Years

(Bloomberg) -- Radio shock jock Howard Stern extended his contract with Sirius XM Holdings Inc. for five more years, cementing the satellite-radio giant’s relationship with one of its biggest stars.

The parties didn’t disclose terms of the new agreement in a statement Tuesday. Bloomberg News reported in October that Stern was close to renewing for about $120 million a year, up from $80 million to $100 million. Stern responded on the air at the time that a deal wasn’t imminent but “I’ll take it” at a figure like that.

Sirius XM shares rose as much as 2% to $6.65 in New York trading after the contract announcement and were up 0.9% to $6.58 at 9:49 a.m. They had been down 8.8% this year through Monday’s close.

Stern, 66, helped to draw millions of listeners to satellite radio when he defected from terrestrial radio in 2005, and keeping him at Sirius was a high priority for the company. Analysts had speculated that Stern might leave for Spotify Technology SA, which is pushing aggressively into podcasting with big contracts for the likes of Joe Rogan and Michelle Obama.

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