Stern's Subscriber Claims Draw Rivals' Fire

When HOWARD STERN told DAVID LETTERMAN on last night's show (12/12) that he'd been responsible for raising SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO's subscriber base from 600,000 to 6 million in one year, that lit a fire under CBS Talk WFNY-F (92.3 FREE FM)/NEW YORK PD JOHN MAINELLI, who sent an e-mail to SIRIUS PR man PATRICK REILLY calling STERN's assertion a "flat-out lie." 

MAINELLI, who reported on radio for the NEW YORK POST until STERN went to the paper's editors complaining that MAINELLI continued to consult while writing for the paper, says that his estimates peg the number closer to "little more than a million subs in two-plus years. And with all that hype." "You'd think this blatantly false public dissemination of information -- at a time when satellite radio is under severe attack on WALL STREET -- is something the SEC and NASD would look into," MAINELLI added.

You'd think this blatantly false public dissemination of information- at a time when satellite radio is under severe attack on Wall Street- is something the SEC and NASD would look into...

STERN's XM/CBS rivals OPIE AND ANTHONY also ripped STERN WEDNESDAY morning for his subscriber count assertion, with ANTHONY CUMIA saying STERN should be held accountable to the SEC "for lying" about the numbers. The pair read MAINELLI's e-mail on the air, with OPIE adding approvingly that MAINELLI is "not gonna let this go."

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