Howard Stern will still be on the airwaves after reports swirled of an alleged cancellation of the beloved The Howard Stern Show.
Multiple outlets reported in August that Stern’s show was canceled after making his debut on Sirius Satellite Radio in 2006. Stern, who began his radio host career in the 1980s, was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2012.
In a 2010 episode, Stern pranked Sal Governale into thinking he’s retiring. While breaking the fake news to Governale, Stern noted that the announcement was “difficult to say.”
“I was faced with either go on with the radio show, or maybe make a complete change in my life,” Stern said at the time. “My wife wants me at home more. I talked to the company, they didn’t want to rearrange my schedule at all. They were inflexible. My hands started to shake and I backed out. I called Sirius last night and I said, ‘I can’t sign this.’ I sadly want to say that I’m going off into the sunset.”
As Governale began to cry, Stern admitted that his retirement was a prank. Another practical joke was played on listeners in September 2025 when Stern enlisted Andy Cohen to pretend that the Watch What Happens Live host was taking over his SiriusXM channels. However, Stern eventually returned to reveal that he’d signed a three-year contract extension with the satellite radio company.
Scroll down to read everything we know about The Howard Stern Show cancellation rumors:
What Has Howard Stern Said About His Alleged Show Cancellation?
Stern didn’t immediately address the rumors that The Howard Stern Show is getting canceled. Us Weekly reached out to The Howard Stern Show and Stern’s lawyer for comment.
In September, Stern trolled fans into thinking Andy Cohen had replaced him and renamed the channel “Andy 100.” Stern went on to address the rumors, noting that he had considered retirement until the false reports came to light.
“I’m minding my own business, enjoying my summer vacation. [A reporter] says that I’ve been fired for being too woke. In light of the Stephen Colbert firing — because the word on Stephen was that it was all part of this merger, and they fired Stephen because he’s too woke — the story then became Howard Stern is fired because he’s too woke,” he explained at the time. “What pisses me off is that now I can’t leave. I’ve been thinking about retiring. Now I can’t.”
What Has the SiriusXM President Said About Howard Stern Leaving?
SiriusXM president and chief content officer Scott Greenstein told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024 that he didn’t think Stern had plans to exit.
“He’s been with me and the company going on two decades, and so he’s pretty happy, but he’s also able, like many great artists, to stop whenever he wants,” he said at the time. “Nobody will ever replace them. We would never try to replace them. It’s not what is even appropriate, but even practical.”
While speaking during a Q&A on a 2024 earnings call, Greenstein admitted that he hopes Stern “continues forever,” per People.
“As for Howard, he’s a singular talent. No one pretended when Johnny Carson or others retired that the new group would replace them. They were just simply filling in on those slots,” he said, gushing that Stern “continues to excel, get us awareness and everything else that goes with what he does.”
Howard Stern Announces New 3-Year Contract With Sirius XM
The Howard Stern Show’s December 16, 2025, episode opened with the host announcing that he’d agreed to a three-year contract extension with SiriusXM.
“I’m happy to announce that I’ve figured out a way to have it all: more free time and continuing to be on the radio. So, yes, we’re coming back for three years,” Howard Stern told listeners. “Thanks to the good folks here at SiriusXM, I was able to create a more flexible schedule … So, we’ll be back!”
Gary Dell’Abate — who has produced The Howard Stern Show since 1984 — revealed that Stern’s staffers erupted into “immediate applause” when the host confirmed his contract extension.
“It was like NASA. Papers in the air, people clapping,” Dell’Abate joked.
Stern added, “That’s the announcement: We’re back. Three more years with SiriusXM and I’m excited about it. Because I do still love radio.”
Howard Stern Confirmed a More Flexible Schedule for Cohost Robin Quivers
On that same December 16, 2025, episode of The Howard Stern Show, Howard Stern explained that his three-year deal allowed his staff to work a flexible schedule. The Stern Show already takes summers off but the DJ and his crew can now take lengthier breaks during the rest of the year as well.
Stern explained that a more flexible schedule was crucial to his signing with SiriusXM again because of his cohost Robin Quivers’ cancer battle. Quivers has been battling the disease since 2012 and currently has stage 3C endometrial cancer. (Per the Mayo Clinic, endometrial cancer is sometimes also called uterine cancer because it begins with cell growth in the uterus. Symptoms can include bleeding and pelvic pain.)
“Let’s be honest, Robin, if I may speak for you, you needed a more flexible schedule,” Stern told Quivers on air. “Robin’s also busy trying to save her own life with a battle of cancer and it does require a tremendous amount of her time. Like when she’s not on the air, she’s busy literally fighting cancer.”
Robin Quivers and Howard Stern in January 2014. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for SiriusXM
Stern joked that Quivers is still a “busy body” and a “go-getter” despite her cancer diagnosis, though he wanted to give her the option to work from home.
“She’s got to stay home, and she’s got to take care of herself,” Stern insisted. “God forbid, anything gets into her body that could be a foreign agent. So she has really lived a lifestyle of perfection … but she’s still got to fight this f***ing thing, right?”
Howard Stern Celebrated New SiriusXM Contract With ‘Today’ Appearance
Howard Stern promoted his new satellite radio contract on NBC’s Today in January 2026, where he was interviewed by Al Roker.
“By the way, Howard, congratulations,” Roker told Stern. “I understand you just signed a new contract. You’re going to be there for a little while longer. How does that feel?”
Stern replied, “It feels great.”
Stern then ribbed Roker by comparing his new SiriusXM deal to Roker signing up for a cameo in the 2014 disaster movie Sharknado 2: The Second One.
“I said to people, it must be like when Al signed up to do Sharknado. That was the greatest thing I ever saw you do, when you appeared in Sharknado,” Stern teased. “When I signed that contract at SiriusXM, I said to myself, ‘This is how Al felt.’”
When Did Howard Stern Renew His Previous SiriusXM Contract?
Stern renewed his SiriusXM contract in 2020 for a five-year $500 million deal, Forbes reported. After signing the extension, Stern said in a statement that SiriusXM “liberated” him. He added per People, “Now that I can work from home, I simply don’t have an excuse to quit.”
