Howard Stern Returns to SiriusXM, Pranks Fans With Fake Andy Cohen Takeover

Howard Stern is back on-air ... after duping fans into thinking Andy Cohen was taking over his SiriusXM show.

Eager listeners tuned in expecting Stern to address rumors his long-running SiriusXM show was on the chopping block -- but instead, they were met with Bravo's Andy Cohen.

Cohen opened with ... "This is, I know, is not the voice that you expected to hear. This is not the voice that you probably wanted to hear, but it is I, Andy Cohen, and this is our first day broadcasting on Andy 100."

He continued ... "I know you're expecting a big announcement from Howard, and this is actually not how things were meant to go. There's been a lot of talk about what's going to happen with Howard. Is he fired? I don't know how much I'm allowed to say except he's not here and I am."

The Bravo host went on to say he was "winging it" and there was supposed to be "a cleaner handoff."

The hoax dragged on for several minutes, even with an angry caller who fumed over the announcement.

But then ... Howard and his sidekick Robin Quivers hopped on the mic, chuckling over the bit.

Howard explains he recently came down with a severe sickness -- which he’s still battling -- and that’s what kept him sidelined over the past week. You’ll recall, he was set to return last Tuesday ... but the show was scrapped last minute.

Amid reports his show is on ice ... Howard says his team and SiriusXM brass have been discussing how to move forward. He assured his listeners he's happy at the company.

Stern says he’s had his staff lean into the buzz about a possible cancellation... all to set up an exciting return.