Shock jock Howard Stern is in talks to be a judge on America's Got Talent.

The radio host is said to be in "serious negotiations" with network NBC to replace Piers Morgan - who announced his departure earlier this week - and join the panel alongside Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel. According to the Wall Street Journal, if successful, Howard could earn around $15 million a year for the show, which is one of the most successful on US television in the summer months.

He has previously hinted he would enjoy being a panellist on a talent show like American Idol, but was unsure if it would ever happen. Discussing then-judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres, he said last year, he said, "They've got a bunch of people on there who don't have an opinion. Judging is an interesting thing. What I do for a living is a lot more complicated than judging. I have to wake up people. I compete in radio markets and to sit there and judge a karaoke contest, the one criteria would be to have an opinion. It seems that two or three of the judges barely have an opinion."

Piers revealed he was leaving the talent series because he found it difficult to juggle all of his different work commitments, including his interview show Piers Morgan Tonight on news network CNN. "I can exclusively reveal that I'm leaving America's Got Talent. I've been a judge since the show began six years ago, I've loved every single second, but I've discovered that juggling, to my surprise, really is a bit more difficult than I thought. So I'm going to focus on what will be a huge year here at CNN, with the upcoming election."