HOWARD Stern and Andy Cohen appear playful in their new SiriusXM ad together, but sources have told The U.S. Sun there’s major tension just below the surface.
As The U.S. Sun first reported, media mogul Andy, 58, has taken over Howard’s SiriusXM channel 101 amid the shock jock’s downsizing to just one new show a week.
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On Tuesday morning, Andy and Howard, 72, confirmed the news in a playful new video.
“Last year we pranked the world. We made everybody think that I was taking over Howard 100,” Andy said, referring to their joke last fall after The U.S. Sun’s report The Howard Stern show was at risk of cancellation.
“It was the best morning. Now the carrot is being dangled that Radio Andy will be taking over 101. Is this a prank? Am I being pranked?”
“No, you are not being pranked. And Andy has been gracious enough to take over 101. And I have one request: Please continue the tradition of doing a lot of gay antics,” Howard responded.
“Your show is gayer than mine!” Andy quipped back.
It appears the video was filmed last week at John Mayer’s SiriusXM concert in the Hamptons, which both hosts attended.
Until now, Howard’s SiriusXM setup consisted of two main hubs: Howard 100, which broadcasts his fresh material, and Howard 101, which was dedicated to archival clips.
With so little new material as Howard dips down to just one new show a week, there is no longer any need for a channel just containing his archival material, sources explained before the news became official.
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Despite the hosts’ banter, sources have said the friction between them is very real.
A source told The U.S. Sun that Howard was annoyed after he noticed during a video call that a SiriusXM exec had a massive framed photo of Andy behind his desk.
Another source previously claimed that Howard was bitter that SiriusXM regularly promotes Andy’s interviews over his own.
“Andy’s interviews are regularly promoted by Sirius, while you just don’t hear much about Howard’s interviews these days,” the source noted.
As Andy’s career at SiriusXM and beyond appears to be on the up and up, Howard’s professional run appears to be winding down.
Over the past year, his staff has undergone two rounds of major layoffs.
The staff reductions began in February, shortly after he signed a three-year contract extension with SiriusXM.
Because the initial downsizing focused on production roles rather than on-air talent, the audience barely noticed – at first.
“They let all these people go, and it was like, ‘Nothing to see here,’ since none of the people were on the air,” a source said.
The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed that around 40 positions were eliminated in February, followed by roughly 16 more during the summer round.
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With the new season kicking off on September 14, there will be just one new episode a week every Monday, followed by a HBO Max video version of the show every Thursday.
Longtime fans have expressed their frustration, and plans to cancel their SiriusXM subscriptions altogether.