Tag Archives: subscriber levels

Howard Stern, who seems to be in a perpetual fight with his bosses, is at it again.

The production company for the radio personality is suing Sirius XM, claiming the satellite radio company has refused to pay stock awards it owes to him based on subscriber targets in Stern’s contract. The lawsuit also says Sirius owes money to Stern’s agent under a consulting agreement.

“World-renowned radio personality Howard Stem (“Stem”) put Sirius on the map,” the lawsuit says. “But, with the exception of a stock award that Sirius paid for the initial year of Stem’s contract, Sirius has refused to pay One Twelve [the production company for Stern's show] the additional performance-based stock awards to which One Twelve is entitled.”

Remember that Stern jumped from broadcast radio to Sirius in a deal starting in 2006. Stern’s contract had an initial value of $500 million in cash and stock. As his original agreement drew to a close, last year Stern persistently teased listeners about the possibility of leaving Sirius for greener pastures.

He eventually re-signed for undisclosed contract terms.

Stern’s lawsuit says Sirius made the initial stock payment awards tied to the company’s subscriber levels, but stopped paying them after 2007. The lawsuit said Stern and his agent didn’t press the matter “while Sirius was struggling or reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy.”

Last year, according to the lawsuit, an official from Stern’s agency asked a Sirius executive about the stock payments. The executive said Sirius didn’t owe anything.

It’s hard to tell from one side of this contract dispute, but it appears the disagreement centers on whether subscribers from XM, the rival satellite company Sirius absorbed in 2008, count toward the subscriber goals in Stern’s contract.