Howard Stern begins satellite broadcasts

Shock jock now has the freedom to swear at will

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Howard Stern's First Satellite Broadcast
Jan. 9: Years from now, will future generations of broadcasters look back upon January 9th as a landmark date in media history, or will the details of Howard Stern's first satellite radio broadcast barley register a memory? Keith Olbermann weighs in.

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STORY

MSNBC

updated 12:02 p.m. ET Jan. 10, 2006

Keith Olbermann
Anchor, 'Countdown'
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Howard Stern, after more than a quarter of a century as a free commodity on radio took his shock jock show into uncharted territory on Sirius Satellite Radio. Fifty dollars for the hardware, $12.95 for the subscription, $500 initially for Stern, and last week he got $220 million in stock.

The freedom to swear at will came with the deal. Though his cast used it liberally, he was himself rather circumspect today. Stern also gets his own news team, alert uniformed reporters in mustard yellow Century 21 real estate style blazers who twice a day will produce live radio newscasts not for him, but about him, who look like they're ready to be converted into a pro-Stern militia, if needed.

Keith Olbermann recapped the big moment on Monday’s ‘Countdown.’

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To read an excerpt from their conversation, continue to the text below. To watch the video, click on the "Launch" button to the right.

HOWARD STERN, RADIO HOST: Let me get down to it. Let me tell you what's been happening since the last show, so we can get up to date with one another. First of all, Sirius announced, I think about a week ago, that they went over the 3.3 million mark.

ROBIN QUIVERS, RADIO CO-HOST: Yes, in subscribers.

STERN: Which is awesome for us, because it means our fans are actually signing up. They miss us.

OLBERMANN: Stern also held a news conference this morning and carried it on his show. A master stroke of publicity and a way to kill 90 minutes of airtime, incidentally.

STERN: We love Keith, because Keith Olbermann said horrible things about Rush Limbaugh on his show, which we appreciate because he's making sense and fighting back. And also said some nice things about me.

OLBERMANN: In this new format, do you worry that you're not just a trailblazer for what you want to do, but you're going to be followed by the Rush Limbaugh's of this world who will then be able to charge for their product as well?

STERN: Let me tell you something, I feel that this is the culmination of a dream for me. And this represent a dream for all broadcasters, including Rush Limbaugh, including yourself and everyone in this room. When management now holds you by the balls and says there's no place for you, now there's a place to come.

Sirius Satellite Radio represents the future for all broadcasters. All this new technology enables us, when management gets rid of us for whatever their hideous reasons are, we have opportunities. And I am shocked by the broadcasters that I speak to who are threatened by new technology. We should all embrace this.

Watch 'Countdown' each weeknight at 8 p.m. ET