SHOCK JOCK

Howard Stern Views New Career Shocker as ‘Middle Finger’ to Critics

The iconic shock jock made a big move.

Howard Stern, 72, wants to remind people he’s still the “King of All Media.”

His deal to broadcast weekly filmed episodes of The Howard Stern Show on HBO Max, announced Monday, is a career move—but it’s also a message to his haters.

“Howard is in a really good mood with his new HBO deal,” an insider told the Daily Mail. “He feels that it is a big middle finger to all his critics who either want him done or think that he is done.”

HBO Max will begin broadcasting filmed episodes of The Howard Stern Show on Thursdays following the episodes’ Monday SiriusXM releases. The move comes after the program laid off dozens of staffers in preparation for a new one-show-per-week schedule, down from its prior two shows.

Stern’s on-air criticism of Trump led to widespread speculation in 2025 that SiriusXM, the show’s home since 2006, would cancel the radio program. Trump himself contributed to the whirlwind of false rumors, posting that Stern and SiriusXM had “parted ways” despite lack of evidence.

The source told the Daily Mail that Stern is angling for the accolades that might come with a broader audience.

“When he worked with HBO Max a few years ago on his Bruce Springsteen special, he loved how it came out and thought he would get an Emmy for it,” the source said. “That is why he wants to do his show like this, because it will allow him to get A-list guests on board, and potentially get an Emmy nomination and win.”

The Daily Beast has reached out to Stern for comment.

Though Stern has become a notorious Trump opponent, the two were friends until Stern’s 2024 interview of then-presidential hopeful Kamala Harris severed their chummy relationship. MAGA opponents cry woke, and Trump has posted several times about Stern on Truth Social.

“BETA MALE Howard Stern made a fool of himself on his low rated radio show when he ‘interviewed’ Lyin’ Kamala Harris, and hit her with so many SOFTBALL questions that even she was embarrassed,” Trump wrote after Stern interviewed Harris.

The future of Stern’s show is unclear. Another source told the Daily Mail that its format may expand, depending on its success on HBO Max.

“If enough people watch the show, it will build into something different down the line,” the source explained. “Howard loves David Letterman, and he would love to do something like Dave is doing and adapt his show into more of an interview show, and really take his empire into a completely different phase than the normal morning radio gig.”

Amid the changes, Stern handed his SiriusXM channel 101 to Bravo’s Andy Cohen, 58, while keeping his main channel, Howard 100, for himself. Last year, Stern and Cohen pranked listeners by implying on-air that Stern had been fired and Cohen had taken over Howard 100.

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In a SiriusXM Instagram video Tuesday, Stern told Cohen that the channel is in “very capable hands.”

“Enjoy it, take good care of it, and if you blow it, I will be the first one to laugh at you,” Stern quipped. “Don’t screw it up.”

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Dana Herrnstadt Editorial Intern, Obsessed

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