Tweet
Howard Stern might have a new bone to pick now that he’s moved his risque show to Sirius Satellite Radio.
And this time it isn’t with the Federal Communications Commission.
The King of All Media is fighting some feisty subjects who don’t want to pay to hear the popular shock jock.
Sirius and Stern’s production company, One Twelve Inc., fired off a cease-and-desist letter to at least one Web site that was rebroadcasting the radio host’s show — billed the “Show” — as an audio stream.
The letter, which was e-mailed to the administrators of www.hearhoward.org and www.hearhoward100.com, called the online broadcasts “blatant” and “willful infringements,” and threatened lawsuits unless the audio streams were immediately removed.
But a Boston area man who says he is the administrator of www.hearhoward.org said he didn’t consider streaming Stern over the Internet theft.
“We’re not making any money off of it. We’re not selling it,” the administrator said, adding that he was a subscriber to Sirius. “I don’t think that they should be charging someone to listen to their service, especially . . . people who don’t have the access to the service.”
The man, who asked not to be identified by name, provided Internet registration data that appeared to verify him as administrator of the site.
A Sirius spokesman called the audio streams online piracy and said the company would do “whatever it takes” to enforce its copyrights. “I think Howard, like us, would appreciate people paying for his show,” said Patrick Reilly of Sirius.
Offering audio online could be a sign of early rebellion from some Stern fans dismayed by the controversial figure’s move to subscription based radio. Stern’s show was broadcast on 104.1 WBCN-FM in Boston before the jock jumped to satellite earlier this month.
Sirius downplayed the issue yesterday. “We’re seeing an enthusiastic response” from Stern’s fans, Reilly said, adding the company added over 2 million subscribers last year.
Source: bostonherald.com
And this time it isn’t with the Federal Communications Commission.
The King of All Media is fighting some feisty subjects who don’t want to pay to hear the popular shock jock.
Sirius and Stern’s production company, One Twelve Inc., fired off a cease-and-desist letter to at least one Web site that was rebroadcasting the radio host’s show — billed the “Show” — as an audio stream.
The letter, which was e-mailed to the administrators of www.hearhoward.org and www.hearhoward100.com, called the online broadcasts “blatant” and “willful infringements,” and threatened lawsuits unless the audio streams were immediately removed.
But a Boston area man who says he is the administrator of www.hearhoward.org said he didn’t consider streaming Stern over the Internet theft.
“We’re not making any money off of it. We’re not selling it,” the administrator said, adding that he was a subscriber to Sirius. “I don’t think that they should be charging someone to listen to their service, especially . . . people who don’t have the access to the service.”
The man, who asked not to be identified by name, provided Internet registration data that appeared to verify him as administrator of the site.
A Sirius spokesman called the audio streams online piracy and said the company would do “whatever it takes” to enforce its copyrights. “I think Howard, like us, would appreciate people paying for his show,” said Patrick Reilly of Sirius.
Offering audio online could be a sign of early rebellion from some Stern fans dismayed by the controversial figure’s move to subscription based radio. Stern’s show was broadcast on 104.1 WBCN-FM in Boston before the jock jumped to satellite earlier this month.
Sirius downplayed the issue yesterday. “We’re seeing an enthusiastic response” from Stern’s fans, Reilly said, adding the company added over 2 million subscribers last year.
Source: bostonherald.com
Comment