Howard Stern says he will leave 'America's Got Talent' after this season

Howard Stern says he is leaving his spot as a judge on "America's Got Talent."

After Us Weekly reported on Wednesday that the Roosevelt- and Rockville Centre-reared radio host had decided to leave the NBC talent competition after this season, Stern addressed the issue on his SiriusXM radio show. According to transcription sites paraphrasing the episode, Stern, 61, said NBC had asked him for a decision by July 4 and that he told them that this current season, his fourth, would be his last. He reportedly added that he has told his agent he does not plan to return, and said that another, unspecified television offer would impact his schedule too much to continue on "America's Got Talent."

An NBC spokeswoman told Newsday, "NBC does not plan to comment at this time." Stern's agent did not return a Newsday request for comment.

Some industry observers suggested the stance may be a negotiating ploy and that Stern has made similar comments in the past when his "America's Got Talent" contract faced renewal. Stern said on his radio show in November 2013 that he had agonized over choosing to return to "AGT" for a third season. "It started out as a goof. Now it's becoming a job," he said, adding, "I will go back [for] one more season."

Stern joined the show in its seventh season, in 2012, replacing Piers Morgan. Producers moved the show in 2012 from Los Angeles to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark to accommodate Stern's desire to continue doing his radio show in New York.