Howard Stern‘s longtime radio empire is taking a very different direction.
SiriusXM is set to remove Howard 101 on September 1, while Howard 100 remains and Stern’s new live programming drops to one show a week. At the same time, a new deal could bring his weekly material to HBO Max.
For Howard Stern, the shake-up looks less like a step back and more like a new way of reaching his audience. With his SiriusXM presence scaling down and his content reportedly heading to streaming, his next chapter could look very different from the one fans have known for decades.
Howard Stern has been at the center of a major SiriusXM shake-up, with Howard 101 set to disappear from the lineup on September 1. The channel, which has traditionally carried archived material, will be replaced by Andy Cohen’s Radio Andy, while Howard 100 will remain.
The change comes as Stern’s presence on the satellite platform is already being scaled back. After years of producing a much larger volume of programming, he is expected to return from his summer break with just one new live show each week, while older material fills the remaining days.
That smaller footprint follows a round of staff cuts that reportedly affected around a dozen employees, signaling just how much the long-running Stern operation has changed behind the scenes.
What Is Stern’s New Career Move?
The SiriusXM changes may look like a setback, but Stern is reportedly moving part of his show into a different media space. According to The Sun, HBO Max has secured a deal to turn material from his weekly live program into a condensed series.
Under the reported arrangement, his three-hour Monday broadcast would be edited into a roughly 60- or 90-minute program for the streaming service later in the week.
Sources said the strict Monday schedule is tied directly to producing that video content for HBO Max, effectively giving Stern another outlet for his work even as his SiriusXM presence becomes more limited.
The move could mark a notable shift for a radio personality whose career has long been built around live audio, especially as his SiriusXM operation undergoes layoffs and major programming changes.
Howard Stern Said His New Deal Lets Him ‘Have It All’
The lighter workload is not something Howard Stern has presented as a setback. Instead, he has framed the change as a way to keep his place on the radio while finally giving himself more freedom away from the microphone.
During a live broadcast, Stern said he had “figured out a way to have it all,” explaining that the new arrangement would allow him to continue broadcasting while giving him more personal time. That is a notable shift for someone whose schedule has traditionally revolved around producing hours of fresh material throughout the week.
Stern also made it clear that having more days off does not mean he plans to spend them doing nothing. “I do like my days off. You know me, I’m never bored. I’m busy every minute,” he told listeners, suggesting that the reduced workload is something he genuinely sees as a benefit rather than a sign that he is ready to disappear.
The New ‘Flexibility’ Came With A Painful Cost
The promise of more flexibility looked very different for the people who suddenly found themselves without a job. Around a dozen staffers were reportedly laid off as the show prepared to cut back to one new episode a week, with the announcement delivered during a Zoom call and employees sent home afterward.
The cuts also brought renewed attention to complaints from former staffers about their experiences working on the long-running show. Some former employees had previously accused the operation of poor pay and abrupt firings, while others described an atmosphere where job security could disappear with little warning.
Those concerns now sit alongside another major change in the show’s future, making the latest downsizing feel bigger than a simple programming adjustment.
The Blast reported that longtime employees were pushed out just as the operation enters a leaner era; the question is whether the new freedom behind the microphone is coming at too high a price behind the scenes.
Howard Stern’s Longtime Staffers Faced A Messy Exit
The shake-up did not end when the layoffs were announced. Several former staffers reportedly pushed back on the initial severance packages offered by SiriusXM, with some seeking better terms before officially closing the door on their time with the show.
The negotiations were reportedly about more than just the money. The first offers allegedly included nondisclosure agreements that would restrict what former employees could say publicly after leaving.
At the same time, some insiders suggested staffers had already seen the warning signs and knew cuts were coming. One longtime employee, Rahsaan Rogers, spent 16 years with the operation before confirming his departure and describing it as the start of a “new chapter.”
Another former staffer, Jon Blitt, took a lighter approach, joking in a video that he had landed a job at Old Navy after the layoffs. As reported by The Blast, the departures have added another unexpected chapter to the transformation of the show.
With the staff shrinking, the schedule changing, and the SiriusXM setup looking very different, what does the next chapter hold for Howard Stern?
