Radio Personality Anthony Cumia Slams Howard Stern In New Memoir 'There was a very good chance he could not be number one if we went against him.'

In his latest memoir, radio personality Anthony Cumia slams Howard Stern, claiming he was the Shock Jock’s biggest competitor, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.

In Permanently Suspended: The Rise and Fall… and Rise Again of Radio’s Most Notorious Shock Jock, Cumia details how CBS feared he could knock Stern from his number-one spot on radio when his contract with WNEW – an affiliate of the network — was up and he was negotiating other offers.

“Whether we beat Howard Stern or not was inconsequential,” Cumia explained. “CBS knew that we could potentially take enough listeners away to keep him from being number one.”

“This made us a commodity to CBS, and they did not want us to leave. Howard’s number-one status in the mornings made them billions of dollars,” he continued. “Howard needed to remain on top or they would lose a boatload of money, and there was a very good chance he could not be number one if we went against him.”

According to Cumia, the network found a way to stop him from ruining their cash cow.

“We had signed the three-year deal with WNEW not knowing that after a year our show would be off the air,” he revealed. “We still would get paid millions for two full years without being allowed to work. They said, ‘Here’s your contract, and we are holding you to it. We’re canceling your show but still paying you in full, and you’re not allowed to get another job. Have fun!’ They knew we’d go right to the Clear Channel and compete against Howard Stern. They kept us from working for two years.”

Cumia, 57, also described how he was able to get under Stern’s skin while he was on-air — despite demands from his radio bosses to back off.

“Howard knew we weren’t just a couple of jocks he could squish like he did to so many others throughout the years,” Cumia wrote in the book. “We didn’t take s**t, and we certainly didn’t listen to our [bosses] on how we should handle Howard. We knew how to handle him.”

“Howard always wanted his audience to see him as a regular guy… and it chipped away at him,” noted Cumia. “We kept doing that, and he knew it was effective and he hated it.”

Cumia even compared himself to Stern by referring to himself as an influential shock jock.

“I think we’re partially responsible for blowing up the whole genre as far as making headlines because of our outrageous antics,” Cumia insisted.

Permanently Suspended: The Rise and Fall… and Rise Again of Radio’s Most Notorious Shock Jock hits shelves on November 20.

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