Howard Stern scales down to ONE new show a week as around 12 staffers laid off by radio icon

Howard Stern is preparing to scale down to one new show weekly this fall, leading the radio stalwart to lay off around 12 staffers.

'He just doesn’t need that much content anymore,' an insider told Page Six on Tuesday of the veteran media personality, 72.

The new shows will begin this fall when Stern comes back from his summer vacation, and the other four days a week will be programmed with past material.

Laid off staffers were informed of the reduction in a Zoom call Monday, sources told the outlet, noting that they were sent home afterwards.

The staffers will be eligible for severance payments in accordance with their time with the satellite company, the outlet reported.

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Sirius XM for further comment on the story. 

News of the reduced schedule and staff drew sharp reactions from longtime listeners. 

An X/Twitter user under the handle @bringbackjackie, who liveblogs The Howard Stern Show as it airs, told the Daily Mail that the sharp decline in output is tied to the departure of former SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer in 2020, and the 2024 passing of Stern's longtime agent Don Buchwald.

Both were cited as critical factors that 'only accelerated Stern's downfall' with the company, leading to 'pay cuts,' 'less days worked' and downsizing the staff.

'If the Stern Show were a publicly traded company,' @bringbackjackie said, 'it would be delisted.'

A user on the Stern Show's subreddit said, 'I worshipped Howard back in the day. I didn’t just think he was hilarious - I admired him for always seeming to make the right moves and say the right things. That’s why it’s so disappointing to see what happened to his legacy.

'He could have walked away as an undisputed legend, but instead he overstayed his welcome by at least a decade. It feels like his inability to step away overshadowed so much of what made him great in the first place.'

The shift comes about eight months after Stern inked a new three-year deal with SiriusXM - his home for two decades after leaving terrestrial radio - late last year.

'I am happy to announce that I have figured out a way to have it all,' he said on his program upon inking the pact.

Stern said the deal's 'flexibility' appealed to him, as it offered him 'more free time and continuing to be on the radio.'

He added, 'I do like my days off. You know me, I'm never bored. I'm busy every minute.'

Prior to the 2025 contract, Stern's most recent deal was for five years and $500,000,000, Page Six reported.

In May, Stern's wife Beth, 53, was asked about what impact she had on his call to come back, while appearing on Andy Cohen Live. 

Cohen asked Beth, 'Every time there's a renegotiation that comes up with Sirius, what is your role in that? Do you try to steer him in a certain direction?'

Beth said, 'Yes - and I feel I'm very influential. I feel that it's very good for him to continue [broadcasting] ... he still enjoys doing it; he's still, I think, very good at it.'

Beth said she feels that her husband continuing with his show - which he has done from home since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic more than six years ago - keeps him 'connected' into what's happening in the world.