Stern Claims "Rights Issues" To Blame For Not Being Included In iPhone App

The Sirius XM iPhone app is currently getting slaughtered in the reviews department thanks to the lack of Howard Stern channels.  Of the nearly 24,000 reviews, over 16,700 of them are just a single star rating.  Sirius XM has remained tight-lipped on the issue, but Stern himself had something to say, albeit very little. According to CNet, Stern fielded a call from a fan on Monday who brought up the iPhone app issue, and Stern actually chose to discuss the matter:

"It was a rights thing, a contractual-rights thing," Stern told listeners. "It was a rights issue and a whole entanglement thing. So, we're not on it. Maybe one day, we will be." Stern sidekick Artie Lange chimed in, saying, "Apple shouldn't profit off Howard Stern."  After trying to find the words to answer Lange, Stern responded with a simple, "Yeah, that's it."

Lange's comment is extremely puzzling since the Sirius XM iPhone app is available in the App Store free of charge, so there really is no way that Apple could profit off of Stern.  That is, unless of course, Lange believes that Stern could help Apple sell even more iPhones and iPod touches, but it is very unlikely that that is where Lange was going with that comment, so let's just disregard it. Since Stern didn't elaborate on what he meant by "rights issues," we are left guessing.  It is very possible that Stern does have an existing contract with some other company that would conflict with his inclusion in the iPhone app, and it is also possible that Stern is just being greedy. It would be nice if someone would just let us in on the secret, but it is never that easy, is it?  Because of the silence we are left guessing, so let's hear what you have to say about the matter.

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