⁠How much is SiriusXM Holdings Inc’s market cap? Howard Stern’s return to SiriusXM podcast gets canceled amid declining listenership

Howard Stern's SiriusXM is facing criticism, as the audience base is shrinking, and growing concerns over Stern's long-promised comeback to SiriusXM. Howard Stern's long-promised return this week was canceled, which raised more questions about the company's uncertain future.

According to Forbes, SiriusXM Holdings Inc.'s market cap is about $7.96 billion, far from what it made during the pandemic. During the pandemic, the subscribers grew as well as the investments. According to analysts, this drop has been influenced by Stern's diminishing popularity as well as Sirius XM's inability to compete with rapidly growing streaming services and podcast platforms.

At a time when audio can be made easily and with less time, investors are growing wary.

Howard Stern's canceled return and decline in listenership

The 71-year-old radio legend had hinted at a spectacular comeback by going on Instagram:

“Fired? Retiring? Canceled? Bye-Bye Booey? Howard Stern will speak. Only on @siriusxm #Howard100.”

Listeners and fans were all excited for the radio icon's comeback, only for it to be canceled. Dissatisfaction with Stern's ongoing contract discussions may have contributed to the cancellation, according to reports from the Daily Mail and Mirror US.

At the end of 2025, his current five-year contract of $500 million, which is considered to be the most expensive in broadcasting history, will expire. According to sources, SiriusXM officials are hesitant to renew under the same conditions due to the network's declining listenership.

During his prime, Howard Stern was hailed as the “King of All Media,” and drew about 20 million listeners per day. According to rumors, that number has decreased sharply to as low as 125,000 today. This is mainly due to changes in the industry, as well as dissatisfaction with Stern, from both listeners and his fans.

Former employee Steve Grillo, who worked with Stern in the 1990s, released a book last year titled "The Gorilla Parts: Top Shelf Stories From the Most Famous Stern Intern Ever." He told the Daily Mail:

"Come September 2, I think it's just going to be everybody's tuning in, and then I think they're going to get disappointed and tune right back out."

He added:

"Unless he decides to put on a leather jacket and a pair of black jeans and then come back and was like, "I'm back baby," which I highly doubt he's going to do because it's too far and in between... all of a sudden he's going to come back and be that awesome rockstar that everybody listened to every day?"

He went on to add that the promo for this seemed lame, and it was to "try and make Stern relevant again.":

"It's such a sad, pathetic version of what happened to this man."

He continued:

"I think that if Old Howard Stern could go and jump in the time machine, he would punch him right in the face."

Grillo added that it was Stern's political commentary about President Donald Trump in September of last year that led to his downfall. Stern said on The Howard Stern Show:

"I don't agree with Trump politically, I don't think he should be anywhere near the White House. I don't hate the guy. I hate the people who vote for him. I think they're stupid. I do. I'll be honest with you, I have no respect for you."

Stern had stated that he didn't care about losing his listeners, even if it was half of them, as he compared President Donald Trump to N*zi leader Adolf Hitler. As Grillo explained:

"People listened to whatever he said, and those people were the hard working people that wanted a change in this country and made him famous and made him rich."

He continued:

"And he turned his back on them by saying, "If you like a certain political person, I don't want you listening to my show... That's why he's got 125,000 listeners."

Grillo also believes that a part of his downfall is also because "he doesn't have the guidance that he did."

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It is reported that Howard Stern will now speak on Monday, September 8, 2025, on why his comeback got canceled last minute, as well as give us more details about his career, whether he is retiring soon, or he's continuing.

Stay tuned to Soap Central for more information..

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