Howard Stern has reportedly gone from angling for a job as Simon Cowell's replacement on American Idol's judging panel to discussing working for Cowell on his America's Got Talent reality competition.
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The outspoken and controversial radio personality is currently in serious negotiations to replace Piers Morgan on America's Got Talent's judging panel, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday evening.
Morgan announced he would not reprise his judging role on next summer's seventh edition of the NBC reality talent competition during Wednesday night's broadcast of his Piers Morgan Tonight talk show on CNN.
Scheduling conflicts and logistical issues are the reason behind the departure, according to Morgan -- whose CNN show launched in January as a replacement for Larry King Live, which ended due to King's retirement late last year.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Stern and NBC are discussing a deal that would pay him about $15 million a year to join remaining America's Got Talent judges Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel on the show's judging panel.
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Stern would reportedly continue to host his New York City-based Sirius XM satellite radio show as part of the deal, which could result in NBC moving America's Got Talent's production from Los Angeles to New York if a deal is finalized.
While Cowell later criticized Stern as an unqualified, poor fit to replace him, Stern had publicly campaigned for a chance to replace Cowell on American Idol following Cowell's early 2010 announcement that he would be leaving Idol to launch an American adaptation of The X Factor for Fox this fall.
"There's not a better job on the planet than judging a f--king karaoke contest. It might be possible, we'll see," Stern told his radio show listeners in February 2010.
"I'm not going to comment about any discussions I might or might not have had. I watch American Idol... People seem to think that if I was on it, because I'm such a foul-mouthed, miserable f--k, that I would get them thrown off the air. I know how to judge."
"They'd have to pay me a ton of dough, because I already make a ton of dough... A $100 million to judge a karaoke contest? Yeah, I think I would do that show for $100 million. It would be the best thing that happened to me. What a cush job: $100 million for four months. Who wouldn't take that?"
About The Author: Steven Rogers