Stern 'never going back' to regular radio

On his satellite show Wednesday morning, shock jock Howard Stern dispelled rumours that he was returning to traditional radio.

"I'm very flattered terrestrial radio can't let go of me," Stern told his Sirius Satellite Radio audience. "But I would throw up if I had to go back. I'm never going back."

Stern, who calls himself the "King of All Media," also declined to name three companies he said had recently approached him about rejoining regular radio.

"I've never been happier," he said in an on-air interview with the Associated Press.

In January, the longtime New York radio personality made his debut on satellite radio after signing a $500-million US, five-year deal with Sirius.

Over the years, Sternbuiltup a traditional radio audience of millions of listeners who revelled in his low-brow brand of humour.

The controversial Stern has also been attributed with helping Sirius boost its satellite radio subscriber list to 3.3 million by the end of 2005. He was rewarded in January with 34 million shares of Sirius stock, valued at $220 million US at the time.

However, his lucrative deal is not the main reason he will stay on satellite, Stern said.

"I wouldn't [leave] for any reason," Stern said Wednesday. "Not for money. I left because I couldn't stand the censorship."

While on "terrestrial" radio, the 50-year-old Stern often ran afoul of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and repeatedly racked up fines for indecency and obscenity violations.

Recently, Greg "Opie" Hughs and Anthony Cumia two of Stern's shock jock rivals struck a deal with Stern's former employer CBS Radio to broadcast both on traditional radio as well as maintain their satellite show on XM Satellite Radio the main competitor to Sirius.

The pair, known as Opie and Anthony, are expected to take over Stern's old morning slot on CBS, replacing rocker-turned-radio-host David Lee Roth. The former Van Halen singer lasted less than four months as Stern's replacement in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and other markets.