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And while Edmonton's A-Channel (Cable 7) is slated to begin airing the self-proclaimed King of All Media's The Howard Stern Radio Show Sept. 12, that decision isn't carved in stone either.
"We're reserving judgment," A-Channel general manager Jim Haskins said yesterday.
CHUM Ltd. has announced it's yanking Stern's TV show from its Toronto-based Citytv station and also pulling the plug on his radio show on CHUM's Montreal radio station.
"CHUM is committed to adhering to the industry codes administered by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council," CHUM executive vice-president Fred Sherratt said in a statement yesterday. "It is clear that the TV show will not meet those standards."
Stern, infamous for his raw and often offensive brand of humor, has said he plans to beat NBC's Saturday Night Live in the ratings.
However, in most American cities where Stern's show was carried, Saturday's SNL re-run was first in the ratings.
Stern's first show consisted mainly of videotaped segments of his radio show, featuring topless women, a transvestite bodybuilder and a Stern staffer interviewing O. J. Simpson on the golf course.
"It's like Howard's radio show on TV," said Haskins. "He's not breaking any new ground."
Haskins said he wants to see a few more episodes of the show before making a final decision on whether it will join A-Channel's lineup. "We have more of a lead time than CHUM had."
He said he couldn't comment either way on CHUM's decision to gas Stern, saying it's the broadcaster's prerogative to decide whether they want the show.
-- With files from Canadian Press