Spotted in PR. Differently

What does it tell you about Sirius' gamble on Howard Stern when they have to offer it for free for two days to get more people interested?

What it tells me is that there are now tons of free choices available across all possible media outlets. It tells me that in the unlimited channel space that is the internet, that you have to be pretty darn good to get a decent sized paid audience. Personally, I've never liked Stern - his schtick has always been about "he said what on radio??", or "he did what on tv??", or, when he was married - "he did what, and his wife doesn't care??"

Well, he's now divorced, and he's on a channel where "outrageous" behavior is common. Why should I pay to hear Stern, if I can get someone like Ze Frank for free? His stuff isn't to my taste, but I suspect that there's a fair bit of cross-over in those audience bases. The difference? Ze Frank is free, Stern is behind a pay wall. Sort of like Times Select, really.

Stern was a phenomenon so long as his behavior was outside the norm, and he was the only one beating that particular drum. Those things are no longer true.

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