Stern lands $82.9M windfall from Sirius

Satellite radio firm surpasses subscriber estimates for 2006, landing shock jock a huge performance bonus.

Although the jury is still out on who will be the big winner between XM and Sirius in the satellite radio business, one champ is clear: Howard Stern.

Having already landed a $500 million compensation package in 2004 to switch from terrestrial radio to Sirius, the shock jock has now scored a whopping $82.9 million stock bonus from Sirius because the company surpassed its 2006 subscriber estimates.

Sirius said today that it surpassed subscriber estimates for 2006 by more than 2 million, ending the year with more than 6 million subscribers. Sirius had roughly 600,000 subscribers when it signed Stern in 2004 for a contract valued at $500 million over five years.

That news garnered Stern about 22.1 million shares, and he could get more in the future.

"The decision to bring Howard Stern to Sirius required a very significant commitment and we are very pleased that our investment has dramatically paid off," CEO Mel Karmazin said in a statement. "Sirius has significantly outperformed earlier subscriber expectations, now generating over $300 million more revenue than Wall Street expected at the time Howard agreed to join us."

Sirius' agreement with Stern provides for additional stock-based performance bonuses if the company exceeds an escalating set of specified subscriber targets by increasing amounts substantially greater than 2 million.

At the Reuters Media Summit in New York in late November, Karmazin sought to downplay his company's dependence on Stern for continued growth.

"I don't think we're reliant in any shape or form [on Stern]," he said. "We have 135 channels."