Howard Stern unexpectedly cancels radio show return as future with SiriusXM remains uncertain

Howard Stern postponed his expected return to his eponymous radio show by a week as his future with SiriusXM remains uncertain.

The broadcaster was slated to return to “The Howard Stern Show” Tuesday after summer break. However, the radio show’s social media accounts posted, “Howard Stern will now speak Monday, September 8,” urging listeners to “stay tuned.”

A source confirmed to Page Six that Stern told staffers on Monday that he would not be returning to the show as expected on Tuesday, due to a family emergency.

Stern’s announcement comes weeks after it was reported that his radio show with Sirius XM was in jeopardy as its $500 million contract nears its end.

“Stern’s contract is up in the fall and while Sirius is planning to make him an offer, they don’t intend for him to take it,” an insider told the US Sun last month.

“Sirius and Stern are never going to meet on the money he is going to want. It’s no longer worth the investment,” the source claimed, adding that the streaming audio entertainment service may bargain for Stern’s library.

“But as far as him coming back to doing the show, there’s no way they can keep paying his salary. After you saw what happened with Stephen Colbert, it’s like they just can’t afford to keep him going.”

A second source told the outlet that Stern, who became a Democrat and severed his relationship with President Donald Trump, may not get a “good offer” because of the “political climate.”

Another insider told the Daily Mail that Stern “will likely sell his catalog of shows to replay” on channels Howard 100 and Howard 101. 

The outlet then reported that Stern, 71, and his team were behind recent rumors that his job was in jeopardy as a “desperate hoax” to make the radio host “relevant.”

“They’re desperately trying to make this thing go viral to try to boost his numbers for his return [in September],” an insider claimed to the Daily Mail.

“His numbers are down so low that they’re trying … to get people to tune in to see what he’s going to say about getting ‘fired’ from Sirius [XM],” the source added.

The whole scheme was allegedly “something they came up with on a viral scale to get people to tune in again” since Stern’s numbers are “pathetic.”

Stern launched the second version of “The Howard Stern Show” on SiriusXM in 2006. Page Six has reached out to his reps for comment.