Sleazy shock-jock Howard Stern rocked the media world recently by announcing his departure from FCC-controlled terrestrial radio. The controversial talk-radio host plains to take many of his 12 million listeners to the burgeoning, subscription-based satellite radio format beginning in 2006--a move expected to free Stern to crack dirty jokes and utter obscenities without fear of reprisal from his nemesis, the Federal Communications Commission.

In typical over-the-top fashion, Stern announced his $500 million deal with Sirius Satellite Radio by proclaiming the death of traditional AM/FM radio. The effect Stern's departure will have on traditional commercial radio is unknown, but his current radio home, Viacom-owned Infinity Broadcasting, expects to lose $80 million in revenue per year according to one Merrill Lynch estimate--a small portion of the $1 billion in revenue Infinity generates annually.

Perhaps more important in the mind of many observers is the notion that Stern's defection from terrestrial radio may push satellite radio from obscurity to the mainstream. Washington-based XM Satellite Radio and New York-based Sirius boast 2.5 million and 600,000 subscribers respectively, and some analysts are predicting that satellite radio may dominate in the future, especially due to the attractive cable-like programming options it offers including MTV, the NFL, The Weather Channel, and CNN.