STERN Ready To Hand Crown To COROLLA, ROTH?

(From The Los Angeles Times -- By Martin Miller)

HOWARD STERN, who is counting the days before he leaves terrestrial radio for satellite, pumped up the volume on replacement rumors by saying on the air Monday that comedian ADAM COROLLA and ex-rocker DAVID LEE ROTH would be taking over his popular morning time slot, at least in the LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK MARKETS.

If true, the personnel moves by INFINITY BROADCASTING -- whose contract with Stern expires at the end of the year -- suggest that multiple radio personalities in regional markets will be used to fill in for the shock jock who routinely bills himself as THE KING OF ALL MEDIA.

INFINITY OFFICIALS did not return phone calls about Stern's on-air statements. Since rumors about Roth began swirling earlier this month, THE VIACOM-OWNED COMPANY has maintained that no announcement regarding Stern is imminent.

RADIO ANALYSTS -- and Stern himself -- have speculated that INFINITY may dump the NEW YORK-BASED personality as early as SEPTEMBER, reasoning that advertisers would be reluctant to buy ads knowing that Stern will soon be off the air.

Roth, best remembered for his rowdy rocker days as front man for the rock group VAN HALEN and later as a solo artist, has been experimenting with his DIAMOND DAVE MORNING SHOW at a classic-rock station in BOSTON. The singer still occasionally tours.

Corolla is co-host, along with DR. DREW PINSKY, of the nationally syndicated radio program LOVELINE, which broadcasts often sexually explicit advice, mostly to teens and twentysomethings. The longtime comic, who has been a frequent guest on Stern's radio show, earned a reputation for dry wit and ribald humor as co-host of COMEDY CENTRAL's THE MAN SHOW.

Phone calls to Roth and Corolla were not returned.

Stern made his announcement Monday morning on his show, following an elaborate hour-long ruse he staged in which it appeared Roth already had taken over the show and the longtime shock jock had been summarily bounced out of his job. In fact, Stern used comic BILL MIRA, who has been doing a credible Roth voice imitation for months for the show, to be DIAMOND DAVE. Monday was Stern's first day back on the air after a two-week vacation.

The hoax fooled several television and radio outlets in NEW YORK, leading them to dispatch news crews to cover the story. At the same time, irate fans phoned in to register their disgust and dismay over the unexpected switch while others expressed their shock on fan websites.

Last year, Stern signed a five-year agreement with SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO worth an estimated $500 MILLION. The network is betting that much of Stern's fan base will follow him to a subscription-only service, which charges about $13 per month, but is free of much of the language and taste restrictions imposed by THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION on traditional radio formats.