‘The Howard Stern Show’ Axes Long-Running Segment Amid Major Changes and Staff Cuts

Howard Stern‘s radio show is saying goodbye to another longtime fixture as it undergoes major changes behind the scenes.

The Howard Stern Show‘s fantasy football league has been canceled after nearly two decades. Frequent Stern guest Michael Rapaport, 56, revealed the news on the Thursday, September 3 episode of his I Am Rapaport podcast.

“The Stern Show Fantasy Football League is defunct…Historical. it’s done,” Rapaport said.

He reflected on how popular the segment had become with Stern’s audience on his podcast.

“One of the greatest fantasy football leagues, probably the world’s most famous fantasy football leagues while I was in it,” Rapaport told listeners. “I took that thing from the bottom to the top, made it a viral sensation that people ask me about every single day even if they don’t care about fantasy football.”

The changes have also extended to Stern’s Sirius XM schedule. According to a report from The U.S. Sun published on Monday, September 7, when Stern, 72, returns from summer break on September 14, he will host just one live show per week, while a video-based version of the program is set to air Thursdays on HBO Max.

The fantasy football league cancellation follows significant staffing cuts at The Howard Stern Show. Per The U.S Sun, roughly 50 employees were let go during two rounds of layoffs earlier this year, with the first cuts beginning in February and another round taking place in July.

Sirius XM also dropped Stern’s Howard 101 archive channel as of September 1, according to the outlet. The channel, which aired older Stern content and employed several of the staffers affected by the layoffs, was replaced by programming from Andy Cohen.

Despite the shakeups, Stern remains under contract with Sirius XM for his live broadcasts. He announced in December that he had reached a new three-year deal with the satellite radio company.

“I am happy to announce that I have figured out a way to have it all,” the radio personality said on his show at the time. “The announcement is that we’re going to be partnering with Sirius XM and [will] continue to entertain for the next three years.”