1985: Howard Stern starts syndicating his radio show in Philadelphia
To celebrate the Ad Club of New York's 120th anniversary, The Drum is inviting readers to share their favorite marketing moments from the past 120 years.
Today we feature Howard Stern’s foray into national radio in 1986 as our marketing moment since it played a major role in helping him become the “King Of All Media.”
After Stern joined New York rock station WXRK in 1985 to host his show, he began syndicating it a year later in Philadelphia.
While many were skeptical as to whether or not a local personality would resonate in other markets, Stern enjoyed massive success in the city and went on to broadcast the show at stations all across North America. His show was nationally syndicated from 1986 until 2005, before moving over to Sirius XM satellite radio where it still lives today.
"Philadelphia was really the testing ground for the rest of the country," Tom Taylor, news editor of Radio-Info.com, told Philly.com in 2011."It proved [Stern] had universal appeal and that you don't have to talk about local things if you're Howard Stern."
Stern also proved, quite quickly, that he was a polarizing figure.
"Howard Stern launched when I was in high school in Haddonfield, New Jersey, outside of Philadelphia," said Doug Zanger, North America editor at large for The Drum. "You were either on Stern's side at WYSP or the incumbent at the time, WMMR. It got heated, lines were drawn and loyalties established. It was definitely an interesting time for Philly radio — and I don't think any of us knew how far Howard Stern would go at the time."
See the full 120 Marketing Moments in the dedicated online section and find out how to purchase the exclusive book.