In what can only be described as a disaster waiting to happen, Sirius Satellite Radio has announced that Howard Stern will interview Martha Stewart for the first time later this week.
In an obvious cross-promotion stunt for Sirius to fete its two powerful celebrities, the company says Stewart will appear on Stern’s show to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Martha Stewart Living, her Sirius radio channel.
At 7:30 AM on Thursday December 14, millions of listeners will tune in to hear the shock jock talk to Stewart.
One can only imagine what that conversation will be like — favourite sexual positions mixed with the perfect recipe for, err, banana cream pie? It’s also going to be an interesting mixture of demographics, as craft-obsessed women will join the mix of libido-driven men in what one can only hope will be one of the most exciting, strange, unique interviews ever done on the show.
Whether you’re a Stern fan or not, it’s ideas like this that have helped make Sirius one of the fastest growing brands in broadcast. In a little over a year (before Stern joined, compared to now), the company says it grew its U.S.-based audience from about 600,000 to about six million listeners (final numbers have yet to be released). In Canada, Sirius has surpassed 200,000 paying subscribers nationwide during its first year of operation.
“Sirius is the fastest growing satellite radio company in North America,” says Mark Redmond, President and CEO, SIRIUS Canada Inc.
And he’s right: NPD Group says Sirius leads the industry in Canada with more than 70 per cent of units sold at retail, year-to-date. The company has also inked many major deals with auto manufacturers, including an announcement that the company would begin pre-installing radios in Volkswagen vehicles in early 2007 (Adding now to the long list that already includes: Aston Martin, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lincoln, Pana-Pacific, Subaru and Volvo).
Beginning in ’07, Sirius will also start broadcasting NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races. As the official satellite radio partner of NASCAR, racing fans will be able to hear the live race, including driver-to-crew communications.
As Sirius continues to grow, XM and terrestrial radio better pay close attention to what works, as Sirius has been incredibly successful at turning the tables on XM, the largest player in the sat radio industry.
With Sirius being such a big threat, it’s not a surprise that rumours of an XM/Sirius merger have surfaced. And to keep the ball in Sirius’ court, Stern is making a few late night appearances to promote the brand and the service, including a lengthy stop on David Letterman last night.
For more info: [url=http://www.siriuscanada.ca]www.siriuscanada.ca / [url=http://www.sirius.com]www.sirius.com
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Howard Stern on David Letterman, December 12, 2006. Part 1/2
To see part two of the Stern/Letterman interview, click here.
