I'm a subscriber to Sirius Satelite Radio. I love satelite radio. Commercial free music with great variety, crisp sound, comedy, sports, radio classics, news, talk. Howard Stern. I wanted satelite radio for years, but got Sirius for Howard Stern. It was the difference between Sirius and XM to me (yeah, Judd, I realize you prefer O&A on XM). So, I'm largely a subscriber because of Howard, and though his show has somewhat waned in quality over the years, he still puts on a good one, and one of the few radio comedy shows I can stick with long term.
Howard Stern has two channels- Howard 100 and Howard 101. His show airs on 100, along with The Wrap-Up Show, a sort of after show where producer Gary "Bababooey" Dell'Abate and "Jump the Shark" millionare Jon Hein discuss the events of that day's show with listeners. On 101, Howard channel mastermind Scott Greenstein, with the help of Howard, has created a lineup of a variety of shows, from off-the-wall sports commentator Scott "Shake It Up" Farell to space cadet Riley Martin, UFO conspirator and delusional egomaniac (so, much like Howard, but without any of his talent). There's another show on 101, though, which is undoubtably the glue of that channel- Bubba the Love Sponge.
Now, Bubba is in the same vein as the Blue Collar Comedy troupe in a lot of ways, though he outdates it by several years. He's out of Tampa, Florida and has a sort of Southern, redneck-like mentality, albeit slightly more enlightened, thanks mostly to his producer Brent Hatley. Maybe he's just the hillbilly version of Howard, but when you get past the NASCAR talk (ugh), he's actually pretty entertaining. This guy was out of the business, kicked out, washed up for a long time, until Howard personally chose him to lead the team at 101. However, Sirius hasn't treated this guy and his team right. And now they're leaving.
I'm not the biggest Bubba fan. I listen regularly, but I'm not a "mark". I don't buy the merch, I don't attend "Bubbapalooza". I don't think he's even half the talent Howard is, but he fills a gap of time in a very entertaining fashion, whether I agree with him on something or not. There's plenty for everyone on that show, even folks whose necks are white and polished. So I was very disappointed to learn that Sirius is not renewing his contract, and has otherwise also been giving him a ration of shit for at least a year, largely revolving around a lawsuit by a woman claiming she was forced into doing sexual things against her will, despite her having signed a contract and agreeing on camera. Just a lot of nonsense.
Fine, Sirius (or now, SiriusXM) doesn't think Bubba is worth the hassle. But who do they think is worth it? Who are the people they're hiring to do radio shows? I like the SiriusXM talk lineup as far as Howard and some of the political talk, but why are they going to pay for radio newbies like Oprah and Martha Stewart and leave a radio vet like Bubba in the lurch? Who's subscribing to Sirius to hear Oprah's friend Gail King talk for a half hour, replayed ad naseum? Why sign up for Martha Stewart when she has a billion shows on television? It seems pointless to pay people who've never done radio before, don't know the business, and aren't talented at it, and then not pay Bubba. So what if he's controversial? Isn't Howard?
I have to express a little disappointment at Howard for this. He claims to not really know what's going on, but I wonder if he's just not bothering because he has other plans for the station. Still, he has claimed that if Bubba leaves, he'll get rid of 101 altogether, so maybe he's more upset then he's letting on. I'd like for him to be a little more vocal than dedicating a few minutes to the subject, considering his pride in ground-breaking, uncensored radio. What's going to happen when his own contract runs out? At least if Bubba were around, we'd have another show to go to.
Now, it's a wrong attitude for fans to claim Howard is just being cheap and not paying Bubba his due. Howard doesn't actually own the channels. He doesn't pay salaries. He cut his own deal. He's not going to get a raise when Bubba leaves. It's not like he's hording all the cash. It's Sirius's fault, not his.
Sirius, what the fuck are you doing? How can you expect people to pay for radio if there aren't any real radio personalities on it? Seperate yourself from the options of just downloading music. Show us you care about the fans of real radio personalities and resign Bubba and his ilk. If not for me, than for the FTEs out there.
