It was only a matter of time before people started to pit Joe Rogan against Howard Stern. After all, when it comes to the world of podcasts and radio, there are no two bigger names. Sure, controversial political personalities such as Ben Shapiro have commanded massive audiences, but when it comes to entertainment it really comes down to Joe and Howard. In terms of legacy and certainly net worth, Howard has the advantage. He has hosted his iconic Howard Stern Show (or some version of it) for around 40 years. And the man has staying power unlike any other figure in the business. But currently, it seems, Joe Rogan is the man to beat.
Love him or hate him, there's no denying the influence Joe has had on an entire generation. He has also managed to smartly capitalize off a YouTube audience even though he recently inked a massive deal with Spotify. But when it comes down to it, who is more profitable? Who is the most influential? And who has the biggest audience?
Updated on April 7, 2022: While it is very difficult to determine exact listener numbers, Stern's audience likely has decreased in recent months; according to Statista, subscribers to Sirius XM radio peaked in late 2019 at around 35 million, and that number has since fallen to around 34 million. That's not a big drop, but it is important to consider that Sirius XM's subscriber numbers went up every year from 2011 until 2019, so it is noteworthy that their subscriber base is no longer growing.
Meanwhile, Joe Rogan's podcast has been causing controversy on Spotify, as several artists have asked the service to remove their music from the service because of Rogan. These musicians do not want to support a platform that pays Joe Rogan to spew misinformation to the masses. Rogan was forced to issue an apology to Spotify. What remains unclear is how all this controversy has affected Rogan's listenership. It's certainly not a good look for Rogan, but as they say, oftentimes there's no such thing as bad publicity.
The Undying Influence Of Howard Stern
Howard Stern is irrelevant... At least, this is what some of his ex-fans turned Joe-Rogan fanatics claim. After all, part of this group tends to be the fans who have abandoned Howard's show due to the fact that the host has gone from a personal and creative transformation since his shock-jock days. Obviously, Howard still loves his gross-out humor, controversial rants, and isn't beyond a faux-pas, especially in the age of cancel culture. But, he's certainly not the outright offensive entertainer that built his empire.
Of course, Howard was smart to evolve creatively. Even Joe said so on his podcast. This is because when Howard moved to the uncensored world of satellite radio, where there was no reason to send the corporate suits and advertisers quivering. There's no value in being shocking with no consequences.
Instead, Howard decided to keep what worked, mainly inappropriate and hilarious staff antics and added, what has gone down as, some of the best celebrity interviews in entertainment history. The man just knows how to get information out of people... And, if Howard's ex-fans could see past their own disdain, they'd notice that Howard is actually in the news almost every week... Why? Because every celebrity who goes on his show gets plastered on the front page of every publication due to some revelation Howard got out of them.
Of course, Howard is also relevant due to his vocal political stances... the very same stances that have recently caused him to clash (inadvertently) with Joe. As every reader likely knows, the two strongly disagree on the value of vaccines. And Howard seems to have science on his side despite his over-simplification or his downright brutal comments about those who choose not to get vaccinated. Ironically, the same acid he recently spewed at the unvaccinated is the same energy many people claim he's lost.
How Many Listeners Does Howard Stern Have?
Because of his ability to change and stay loyal to his most dedicated fans as well as his ability to open the door to new ones, Howard's audience remains in the millions. According to statistic.com, Sirius satellite radio had 600,000 subscribers prior to Howard's move to the format in 2006. Subscribers peaked in lat 2019 at around 35 million, and now, SiriusXM Pandora has around 34 million subscribers. Of course, that includes people listening to copious music channels, politics, and sports... But without Howard taking a chance on them and bringing his audience over, the company simply wouldn't have continued.
It was easy to see Howard's ratings when he was on terrestrial radio... at his peak, he had a whopping 20 million people listening to him daily. Now, experts say he at least has a few million listening to every single one of his shows with a few more million dropping in and out. SiriusXM clearly sees the value and relevance in him as they forked over $90 million a year for his show in 2019. After his 2020 5-year extension, that number increased to far beyond $100 million, according to Page Six.
So, the final estimate... about 10 million listeners.
Joe Rogan's Audience Is Massive But Perhaps Not As Big As It Seems
In just a fraction of the time, Joe has built an audience that rivals that of Howard's. Although, according to Austonia, that number seems to be leveling out unlike Howard's at a comparable point in his career. Similar to Howard's new 2020 deal, Joe's podcast received a whopping $100 million deal from Spotify. The company clearly saw Joe's millions of views on his YouTube videos and knew he was a moneymaker. As it stands, The Joe Rogan Experience is number one on Spotify, and theoretically all 345 million users of the company can access it... But, given the sheer amount of competition for attention on Spotify, Joe's audience numbers are nowhere near that.
While every publication says that Joe has had over 200 million monthly downloads, that doesn't necessarily correlate with 200 million individuals. And, according to The Verge, Joe's ability to lift his guests out of obscurity into infamy has dwindled due to joining Spotify. Thanks to tracking increases in Twitter followers and Google trends, far fewer people are paying attention to Joe's guests now that he's on Spotify. And searches for Joe himself have decreased over the last year and a half except when he makes news by talking about his vaccines. Basically, this controversy keeps him relevant to people beyond his utterly dedicated fanbase.
So, what's the final result? Does Howard Stern actually beat out Joe Rogan for listenership?
No. Not, any more.
But Howard doesn't lose by much... sorry, haters...
According to The Washington Post, experts claim that 11 million people actively listened to Joe as of early 2021 and account for the vast majority of his 200 million monthly downloads.
While both Howard Stern and Joe Rogan have narrowed their audience due to the platforms they've chosen to be on, as well as their styles, there is a chance for both of them to grow for years to come.