Sanjaya Malakar and Howard Stern are smack dab in the middle of a high-stakes battle for America's attention.
According to The New York Times [registration required], the battle pits Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI), as led by Howard Stern, and VoteForTheWorst.com -- along with Stern's silent partners: all the other networks -- against American Idol's corporate sponsors, News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Fox Network and Idol-rights owner, CKX Inc. (NASDAQ: CKXE).
Stern's stated goal is to destroy Idol's popularity by encouraging people to vote for Malakar, whose unique hair styles and ability to bring 12-year-old girls to tears have contributed to his survival on the show despite weak vocal skills. If Malakar wins, acerbic judge, Simon Cowell, has threatened to quit the show. If Cowell did quit, Stern could indeed damage Idol's popularity -- people love to hate Cowell.
What is going on here? Your guess is as good as mine. But I think the Malakar furor is great for American Idol -- his Mohawk helped persuade General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) Today Show to lead with a Malakar story last Wednesday. Stern is trying to boost his own ratings by tapping into Idol's popularity and today's great coverage by the New York Times won't hurt Stern either.
I think News Corp. will be the winner in this skirmish, CKX and Sirius will not benefit significantly, and the losers will continue to be the other networks who try to compete with the Idol juggernaut.
Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He owns shares of General Electric and has no financial interest in the other stocks mentioned in this post.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-31-2007 @ 5:40PM
frankie aragona said...
i mean lets face it sanjay malakar cant sing to save hise life and his hair cant save his looks ethier wait till hes 40 lmao he will look ten times worse than sadam husan affter he been hanged lol but that dont stop ppl voting for him cause most ppl hate idol cause they couldnt even sing a note and no it so really is it worth it to be so jelous and make a asshole win i guess if you sing like shit it is lmao frankie
3-31-2007 @ 5:50PM
frank aragona said...
sanjay malakar knows that he really sucks as a singer and his hair cant save him ethier when he hits 40 he will look worse then when sadam husan was found in the whole lmao its just that tere so many wanta be singers that cant sing to save tere life so thats why they and howard stern vote for him cause tere all jelous of the good singers well dugh wouldnt you be to lmao frankie ps like taylor hicks cant even sing a good lick
3-31-2007 @ 9:45PM
Megan said...
What adult has time to flood AI telephone lines? The show is for families, mainly for kids and teens, and that's who votes for Sanjaya Malakar. Not the 18-40 year old male market that listens to Stern.
Stern may influence the votes now that he and votefortheworst.com have gained attention from AOL, NY Times, etc but I sincerely doubt he's had a major impact of any kind up to this point. His other campaigns (satellite radio, a movie, and any number of schemes begining with 'hey, guys, wouldn't it be cool if...?') haven't mobilized the country, so why would his interest in a singing competition?
4-01-2007 @ 11:28AM
Rhonda Wellington Florida said...
The really sad thing about all of the manipulating is that the contestants that do have genuine talent and a desire to better themselves are suffering. It really isn't a kind thing to do. I sincerely feel bad for them all, Stern and the others for feeling the necessity for doing such a nasty thing, but mainly for the contestants that have had their hopes trashed.
4-01-2007 @ 12:00PM
Victor said...
Everyone has missed the point! The point is American Idol has nothing to do with the votes. Each vote costs .99 cents. The show makes money from this and in the end..The producers can change the voters choice and pick whomever they want. That's why Stern and Vote For Worst are doing this! So that the callers vote really counts and hopefully they will change the rules.. Why pay .99 cents if your vote in the end can be changed by the judges. Also, the Idol producers have the right to stop the call in voting at anytime. Over riding the popularity vote. The rules need to be changed either the judges pick the winners or the Public picks the winners...
4-02-2007 @ 10:33AM
Dan Feldman said...
As a Sirius stockholder who is now down almost 44% I wish Howard Stern would concern himself with making his show better and not trying to 'destroy' something else that is successful. I can't even figure the motivation for this. Is he jealous that Idol is succesfull and that he (other than finacially) is a failure? Howard, if you're listening, take some of your $500 Million and buy back some Sirius shares and show the world you believe in what you're doing!
4-02-2007 @ 11:19AM
Don Fleming said...
Attention: SIRIUS SUBSCRIBERS! Why not join my family and CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION TO SIRIUS RADIO? WE ARE NOT RENEWING DESPITE THE FACT THAT WE ENJOYED IT, EXCEPT FOR MR FILTH. We would have had 4 subscriptions in our household, and now we will have ZERO! Maybe we can "bring Sirius down" another notch or two, even though they don't have much further to fall.
4-02-2007 @ 7:05PM
Helen said...
Howard Stern is an a**hole that looks like an old woman.
4-02-2007 @ 11:28AM
JULIE said...
As a great fan of American Idol, I think Howard has stooped to a all time low! To cheat talented singers out of a chance for a recording contract is the lowest you can go. I hope the american public can see through his spiteful ways and vote for the singer that best deserves the top spot. He is trying to ruin a great chance for some hard working, talented singer. Shame on you Howie and your low-class thinking!
4-02-2007 @ 11:46AM
MISSJUJU said...
I just wrote Howard Stern and let him know what a low life he is. His latest trick for attention with the American Idol show is the last straw. If you think he is wrong for robbing the great singers on American Idol from votes, write him and tell him. I am no longer a fan of Howard Stern and will not listen to him. Howard Stern.com
4-02-2007 @ 12:56PM
StanS said...
Wow, I have never seen a so many morose posters in the same spot. HS is not trying to "destroy" AI, in fact this has probably brought many MORE watchers to the show. HS is doing it because it's FUNNY! All of you should get a life!
4-02-2007 @ 10:07PM
jz said...
Here's Howard Stern and his gay lover from vote for the worst.
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/197/sterntarzaloverskn3.jpg
4-03-2007 @ 11:23PM
J Mc Donough said...
Wow! what a cry for attention. I agree with one of the posters Howard is no longer as popular since his move, no one wants to pay to hear him.I sold my shares...Thank goodness sirius never really got off the ground. How can we soar with eagles when we were invested with turkeys.. Howard could not perform like he promised. he is the only one that made $$$$
he has lost his fan base...So Howard leave the kids alone you are stopping some talented kids from being recognized shame on you!.
4-03-2007 @ 11:28PM
J mc Donough said...
oops... That is thank goodness I sold my shares not Thank goodness sirius did not get off the ground. That would of been nice if it did...