Howard Stern Sues SiriusXM

The King of All Media says he’s due more spoils.

Howard Stern’s production company One Twelve has reportedly filed suit against Stern’s satellite radio bosses in New York, claiming the shock jock was owed a bonus for delivering extra listeners when Sirius merged with XM in 2007.

Stern agent Don Buchwald also claims he’s owed extra cash, The Wall Street Journal, E! News and New York Daily News reported.

“Now that Stern has put the company on the map, brought in millions of subscribers, and helped it conquer its chief rival, Sirius has unilaterally decided that Stern has been paid enough,” the lawsuit said, according to the News.

Stern reportedly scored a $500 million, 5-year deal to leave terrestrial radio behind for Sirius back in 2006. The lawsuit alleges Stern’s production company was promised a premium in stock for breezing past Sirius’ internal performance targets by more than 2 million listeners.

"If not for the dramatic success that Stern had brought Sirius, Sirius would not have been in a position to acquire its rival and the merger would not have happened," the suit said.

Patrick Reilly, a senior VP at SiriusXM, told E! News in a statement that while Stern was “a valued part of our company, SirusXM was “surprised and disappointed” by the lawsuit.

“We have met all of our obligations under the terms of our 2004 agreement with Howard, his agent and production company," Reilly told E!

After publicly flirting last year with leaving satellite radio behind, Stern confirmed in December he’d inked another 5-year contract with SiriusXM. He joked at the time that he’d re-upped for “$100 billion.”

Selected Reading: WSJ, E!, Daily News
 

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