The writing has “been on the wall for well over a year now” that SiriusXM wouldn’t be renewing Howard Stern’s colossal contract — and his employees have been taking advantage, “coasting” on the clock and trolling for new gigs, two current show staffers told The Post.
This week, reports surfaced that the “Howard Stern Show’s” “19-year run at SiriusXM was nearing its end, with his $500 million contract expiring at the end of the year and an audience that’s apparently dwindled from 20 million a day to 125,000.
Some of the show’s writers have been their best jokes for themselves, to use after the show’s eventual demise, one worker said.
“Most of us have been coasting at work the last year,” because “we know he’s retiring, whether by choice or because he’s forced out,” admitted one of the longtime staffers who dished to The Post this week.
Stern’s employees have been putting out feelers for other showbiz gigs, the two said.
“It’s been hard, because the industry [in New York City] is so incestuous, so you don’t know who’s talking to who,” the first employee said.
“I’m just hanging in there until this is all sorted out, and then I will take some time to unwind after all this,” the staffer continued. “I’m a fan and it’s been a big part of my life for so long, but it hasn’t been fun for a while.”
Before taking his annual summer break, Stern, 71, hinted in staff meetings his retirement is nigh. The staffers said they’ve only heard rumors regarding Stern’s future at SiriusXM — nothing definitive from management or the self-proclaimed “King of All Media” himself.
The looming end of the once mighty radio personality comes after a sharp change in Stern’s politics.
The radio host used to maintain a friendship with President Trump, but came out against him when he ran against Hillary Clinton in 2015.
Once a strong supporter of Republicans like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Governor George Pataki, Stern has been accused of going woke and was an infamously ardent backer of President Biden and Kamala Harris.
“I don’t know if its wokeness that alienated some of his audience, or if he just got tamer with age, but whatever it is, its apparent no one wants to hear it anymore,” the second staffer offered.
The political U-turn was done to appease the Hollywood elite, the employee said.
“I think he’s content to be out in there in the Hamptons with his celebrity friends,” the first staffer offered. “He likes being liked by famous people. That seems more important [to him] than his legacy.”
Some ribbed Stern, calling him “Hollywood Howie” after he started hanging around with the likes of Jimmy Kimmel, Jennifer Aniston, Jerry Seinfeld, and John Stamos during the late 2000s and early to mid 2010s.
But since COVID Stern’s become “a hermit,” the second staffer said.
“Everyone knows he hasn’t been the same since COVID. He does the show from his [Southampton] basement. And it’s been sad to see how irrelevant he’s become,” the employee added.
Stern has also suffered immense loss in recent years, with the deaths of his father, Ben, in 2022, his best friend and stylist, Ralph Cirella, in 2023, and then his agent, Don Buchwald, in 2024.
Fans have complained for years about the show’s dwindling quality, and Stern’s kids-gloves approach with certain guests he once would’ve skewered.
“His passion hasn’t been there, and that can be infectious,” the first staffer said. “When your boss doesn’t even seem like he wants to be there, its like, why should I bust my ass?”
Stern and SiriusXM did not return requests for comment.
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