Howard Stern revealed on his show this morning that he has signed a deal with In Demand Networks for an On Demand subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) version of his show. Stern loyalists will have unlimited access to more than 20 hours a month of material culled from his past radio shows and his new Howard Stern Sirius Radio Show when it debuts. The selection of shows will be updated every week. Variety reports it is a three-year deal.
"We are taking everything completely underground," said Stern on his program this morning while making the announcement. Discussing some of the reasoning behind his second move to a subscription service, Stern railed on one of his favorite targets, the FCC, claiming the commission's crackdown on indecent material has not only driven him from terrestrial radio, but also from cable television. He intimated that E! executives were being pressured to censor his program beyond saucy language and pixilated nudity, even though it was on cable television and the supposed safe harbor hour of 11 p.m. "There's no other place for me," claimed Stern. "I can't bring you the E! show the way it used to be."
A message on the In Demand Web site, already complete with a Howard Stern section, declares: "Howard Stern has found a new home on television. Soon you can enjoy his shows in a whole new way." The site also says, "Howard Stern On Demand is a subscription video on demand television offering that will be available from multiple television service providers. It will also be the only way you can watch Howard Stern’s radio shows on television, with the convenience of On Demand viewing."
While Video On Demand incurs an additional cost, Stern fans will have unlimited access to video highlights of Howard Stern’s past and present radio shows. The monthly subscription cost will be announced when the package is available to order.
In Demand President/CEO Rob Jacobson said, "The production baton for Howard's show has been passed from a traditional linear basic cable environment, to In Demand, where Howard's viewers have more control over the content in their homes. With VOD, users can fast-forward, rewind and pause, and view a show at any time and as often as they want. By providing Howard Stern's show in a subscription VOD format, this content will be available to only those viewers that make an affirmative decision to view it, with the benefit of parental controls tools from their television provider."
Parents concerned about their children watching Stern's television program should take notice that In Demand Networks is already providing information that they can activate the parental control feature to limit access to Stern's programming.
