Howard Stern is very much still on the air.
A day after a report claimed that his long-running The Howard Stern Show would be cancelled when his contract with SiriusXM ends later this year, he popped up to do an unscheduled show when a repeat would have aired.
The timing appeared to be pure coincidence for Stern, who had been on his summer break since June and was expected to resume hosting new episodes of his show next month.
He was joined on air by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich.
The two shared their appreciation for late Black Sabbath rocker Ozzy Osbourne and discussed last month’s Back to the Beginning tribute show, which had been billed as the “Crazy Train” singer’s final performance. Ulrich had performed at the show. Stern said that he was “profoundly sad” about Osbourne’s death.
Stern’s return to the airwaves seemed unrelated to a story in The U.S. Sun published Tuesday that credited unnamed insiders with saying that Stern won’t remain at the entertainment company.
“Stern’s contract is up in the fall, and while Sirius is planning to make him an offer, they don’t intend for him to take it,” a source told the outlet. “Sirius and Stern are never going to meet on the money he is going to want. It’s no longer worth the investment.”
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The 71-year-old signed a five-year contract for $500 million in 2020, according to Forbes.
Stern’s show, which features buzzy, in-depth interviews with celebrities, has been broadcast by satellite provider SiriusXM since 2006. Before that, it aired on traditional radio stations for decades.
Ulrich and Stern also announced SiriusXM’s new Maximum Metallica channel (42), set to debut Aug. 29. To celebrate the new channel, the satellite broadcaster and streaming company will host a live performance by Metallica at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, N.Y., on Thursday, August 28. The concert will premiere on the channel on Monday, September 1, at noon ET. SiriusXM subscribers and fans can enter for a chance to attend the exclusive concert event.
EW has reached out to both Stern and SiriusXM.
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