Howard Stern to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol?

(HMG) – While the strongest rumors have X Factor and American Idol both wanting Tommy Mottola as a judge, there is a new intriguing ‘dark horse.’  And one that makes some sense should Idol fail to win the possible bidding war since both shows want a high-profile music industry professional.  With Idol looking at it’s future competition stacked with judges Simon Cowell, along with possibly Paula Abdul and Tommy Mottola how does it compete?

How about Howard Stern to replace Cowell as the show’s tough-talking judge?  An insider tells Page Six, that producers of the hit Fox show say Stern, America’s highest-paid radio personality, is their top choice to take over from Cowell, who leaves at the end of this season.  With Stern’s own exclusive Sirius XM Radio deal expiring next January, a source connected to “Idol” said:

“It’s one of the few shows that could compete with Stern’s $100 million-a-year contract, and ‘Idol’ bosses think he’d be even nastier than Simon, which I guess they see as a good thing. They know he would be great TV and would clash with the other judges such as Ellen DeGeneres and the contestants. ‘Idol’ will do what it takes to sign him.”

The problem is Howard might not really be ready to give up his radio gig, despite the posturing and he could be reluctant to commit to a show that would require him to tour the US as a judge and spend much of the year in Los Angeles, according to the same Page Six source.

“Despite what he’s been saying on-air, Howard isn’t ready to leave radio and would like to stay on at Sirius,” the source said. “We believe this is a ploy to make Sirius pay up and keep him on his huge contract. But if Sirius can’t pay him the money he wants, he may negotiate to film ‘Idol’ on the side.”

What do you think is Howard Stern a good fit to judge American Idol talent?