ABC is Officially Bringing Back "American Idol"

[JamesG]

NBC in Talks to Revive "American Idol" (EXCLUSIVE)
by Daniel Holloway
2/9/17


NBC is in talks with FremantleMedia to resurrect "American Idol", Variety has learned.

According to sources with knowledge of the discussions, NBC has been pitched a revival of the long-running singing competition by producer Fremantle and is now mulling options for how to integrate the show into its programming slate. One possibility being considered: cutting NBC’s existing singing competition "The Voice" from two cycles a year to one.



Fremantle has been shopping an "Idol" revival in recent weeks, with NBC emerging as the leading candidate to become the new home of the long-running singing-competition series. Sources emphasize that talks are ongoing, and no deal is yet in place.

Representatives for NBC and Fremantle declined to comment.

http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/amer...bc-1201982967/

[king of comedy]

If they do this, lets' hope the judges are just as good as the original 3. There is only 1 Simon Cowell.

[TMC]

http://www.vulture.com/2017/02/ameri...good-idea.html

It’s been less than a year since American Idol wrapped its 14-year run on Fox — so, naturally, there’s already talk of reviving the show. Vulture has confirmed a Variety report that producer Fremantle Media has been looking to set up a reincarnated version of the groundbreaking music-competition format, with NBC emerging as a strong candidate to be the home for the new Idol. Both Variety and our sources inside NBC insist there’s no deal in place and there might never be one, though at least one industry veteran with knowledge of the conversations suggests the Peacock is poised to lock down the reboot rights. All of this may seem odd, given how far Idol’s ratings had fallen from their glory years and considering NBC already has a perfectly good music-competition series in The Voice. But in actuality, there’s some decent logic to the notion of Idol on NBC. Here are three reasons why:

1. It would be a way to rest The Voice.

For starters, while The Voice remains a relatively strong audience draw — NBC’s Monday numbers plummet when the show takes its mid-season hiatus — its Nielsen ratings haven’t been immune from the effects of age. The most recent season suffered double-digit declines versus the previous fall cycle, and NBC execs have been talking openly for months about the possibility they might (finally) decide to limit The Voice to one edition per season. Doing so, however, would require NBC to replace dozens of hours of programming in either the fall or spring — and that’s where Idol could be a useful addition to the Peacock roster. The network could simply sub Idol for either the fall or, more likely, the spring edition of The Voice. Or, if it wanted to hedge its bets, NBC could shift its reliable summer powerhouse America’s Got Talent into the regular season and replace it with a new take on Idol, which would air between June and September. This would have the added benefit of lowering rating expectations for a revival, while also underscoring the back-to-basics narrative NBC and Fremantle would likely use as part of any Idol relaunch. Such a plan would, of course, require Fremantle to produce Idol at a substantially lower price point than the old Fox show. (Though perhaps not that low: Remember, cutting The Voice back to once a year would save NBC a lot of money on judges’ salaries.)

2. It makes it tougher for other networks to launch their own music competitions.

One disadvantage to NBC’s stated desire to cut back The Voice would be that it would open the door for a rival network to fill the gap left by a diminished Voice footprint. Imagine a Fremantle sales pitch to ABC or Fox: “The Voice is only going to air in the fall; wouldn’t you like to have a new Idol in the spring?” If NBC were to buy Idol, part of the appeal would thus be defensive: Any rival network that wants to capitalize on a pared-down Voice will have to do so with an entirely new project. What’s more, as noted above, having Idol makes it much easier to shift AGT to the regular season without leaving a giant hole in NBC’s summer schedule. Of course, such defensive buying — assuming an NBC pickup of Idol happens — doesn’t always work out. It could be that the music-competition genre is just worn out, and NBC will find itself with a still-fading Voice and an Idol resurrection nobody wants to see. Or, another network could end up doing to NBC what NBC once did to Fox: When Idol was still riding high, Simon Cowell all but forced Fox to buy his U.K. smash The X-Factor, threatening to sell it to another U.S. network and take on Idol. When Fox folded, NBC decided to team with Mark Burnett on another musical format — The Voice. It became a smash hit, while Cowell’s effort ultimately flopped (and hurt Idol in the process.)

3. It would likely still do relatively well in the ratings.

While Idol lost a lot of ratings ground during its last four or five seasons, the show was still regularly pulling over 10 million viewers during its final cycle last season, with decent demo ratings to boot. Even if you assume a 25 percent decline in audience for a new version, 7 or 8 million same-day viewers is not insignificant in 2017. Plus, with audiences increasingly opting to watch scripted shows on-demand — often via season-long binges — ratings for linear broadcasts of dramas and comedies continue to plunge. This makes event-style reality shows such as The Bachelor, The Voice and, potentially, Idol all the more valuable, since consumers tend to watch them in real time (something coveted by advertisers). So while the idea of American Idol returning to TV in the spring or summer of 2018 isn’t going to win NBC any points for originality — and may very well end up being an instant dud — the notion isn’t as laughable as it might seem at first glance.

[irehtman]

Maybe change it to "National Idol" if it is going to be aired on NBC and I think NBC is the best fit for Simon Cowell as judge.

[JamesG]

ABC is Reportedly Close to Reviving "American Idol"
by Tim Surette
May 4, 2017


Look, we don't know how this "American Idol" merry-go-round drama will end either, but the singing competition show seems destined to return to television -- it's just a question of where.

The latest player to be involved in the "American Idol" revival is ABC, which just put out a bid to "Idol" producers Fremantle, according to TMZ.





ABC's idea would be to reboot the one-time ratings juggernaut for a March 2018 premiere. Negotiations are reportedly very far along and a deal will likely be reached in time for ABC to announce the pickup at its upfront presentation May 16.

What's more, ABC apparently also wants to make Ryan Seacrest an even busier man by having him return to host the show. This comes after Seacrest recently agreed to co-host "Live!" with Kelly Ripa and relocate to New York. That in turn has ABC thinking it would film the new "Idol" in the Big Apple instead of its normal soundstage in Los Angeles.

TMZ says Fremantle negged that idea, and that "Idol" must be shot in Los Angeles.





ABC's bid comes after NBC previously tried to woo the franchise over to its web in February. But that flirtation ended after "Idol" co-producer Core didn't approve of the deal.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/abc-american-idol-revival/

[JamesG]

"American Idol" Officially Getting Revived at ABC
by Liam Mathews
May 9, 2017


That didn't take long. Just over a year after it supposedly took its final curtain call, singing competition show "American Idol" is getting revived at ABC.

The revival was announced Tuesday morning during "Good Morning America". The details are still being determined -- there's no panel of judges or showrunner in place yet. The host is still undetermined, but newly-minted ABC personality Ryan Seacrest's co-host Kelly Ripa would love for him to return.

The show will retain its original producers, FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/american...evived-at-abc/

[tlc38tlc38]

Crap. They should've left it dead.

[MrCleveland]

I only have one word for this...

[Mace Dolex]

And people were clamoring for more American Idol because...............?

[80sTrivia]

Couldn't they have just left it to go away quietly, forever...

[robyrob]

ugh.

maybe they need some different judges - like Mike Tyson, Gilbert Gottfried, and Liza Minelli - and bring back Dunkleman as the host.

that should put the final nails back in that coffin once and for all.

[Torgo]

Originally Posted by king of comedy

If they do this, lets' hope the judges are just as good as the original 3. There is only 1 Simon Cowell.

Thank God.

[James28]

So, is the new American Idol on ABC only going to be on for one night a week throughout its whole season rather than two to avoid being such a waste of the network's schedule?

[Edward216]

I'll check it out as long as they DON'T bring back Simon Cowell, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, or Jennifer Lopez as judges!

Ed.

[irehtman]

Should renamed this revival as "National Idol"?