FOX and Simon Cowell negotiating in public is not any more surprising (even less surprising perhaps) than FOX and Time Warner Cable negotiating in public.
But James Hibberd has the OMG SHOCKING EXCLUSIVE (sarcasm alert, for anyone with faulty detectors!) that FOX wants to order 3 more seasons of American Idol whether Simon is on the show or not.
Perhaps FOX felt like it needed to get a leg up in the public posturing after the OMG SHOCKING STUDY that revealed nearly half of the people surveyed said they'd watch American Idol less frequently without Simon.
NOT surprised. Even if the show goes down to a 4.0 demo, its still good enough for renewal.
i think it would be great if, somehow, it began getting 0.7s like Dollhouse gets
If the show drops by at least 25% (those are the people who won’t watch at all, rather than “less”) it will still do just fine, but Fox may not be the automatic #1 network anymore. They may have to actually fight for it.
(But I still see this as nothing more than a ploy for money by Cowell. He’ll be back.)
God I am sick of this show.
That is all.
We shall see, Julia… there was a lot of speculation that Paula Abdul’s possible exit was a ploy for money, too, and things didn’t quite work out in that regard.
Maybe it is a ploy — can’t rule it out, the ways to finagle more money for a contract are becoming quite creative and varied these days. Maybe Simon is bored. Maybe he doesn’t even know what he wants to do and won’t know until after the coming season is up and the contract is sitting on his desk and he pulls out a two-pence coin and gives it a heads-or-tales toss. Maybe he’ll just put himself into a “guest judge” role toward the end of the show as a boost in the ratings (perhaps as a “same money, reduced hours” contract) and be a semi-regular of the show.
The contract, if I understand correctly, runs out after this season. I say enjoy the show (if you watch it) and see what Simon says (pun intended) after the season is done.
I’m with Julia this still looks and feels like Cowell asking for more money and both sides doing all they can to make sure they win. However you slice it Cowell will be on Fox next season, either with Idol or The X Factor. I’d tip my hat toward another year of Idol personally.
On another note I’d also guess that a Cowell-less Idol would debut big next year. Whether it could hold onto that audience would depend entirely upon his replacement but curiosity about the new judge would get the better of all the people who said they wouldn’t watch and those who don’t watch.
ratings have gone down over the years, so it’s not like it matters all that much. once simon leaves i’m sure they will find someone else who is as mean as simon to replace him
Tony, American Idol may not be as big as it once was, but it is still the biggest non-sports programming on American TV, by a wide margin (at least in the demo, NCIS is catching up in total viewers, but, well, who cares?)
I thought it was official that Simon was leaving? And if he is, I think the show will completely crash in the ratings.
Idol for spring, SYTYCD for summer, X-Factor for Fall, starting in 2010.
G, nothing is official re: Simon and Idol. I think it’s a negotiating ploy.
I actually think Paula’s hold out was one too, but her advisors screwed up and she was out of the most lucrative paycheck she’s likely to get for the rest of her life.
Presumably there’s a resonable chance Paula could be a Judge/ Mentor on X-Factor if she’s still popular enough?
If Paula Abdul can negotiate a US X Factor contract, her first year at least should eclipse her Idol paycheck. You have to assume that she is at the top of the list for potential X Factor judges.
I’m guessing Cowell would have a large say in it, and they say they get along but I imagine they would say that anyway. She certainly doesn’t seem to be burning her bridges with Cowell.
Simon adores Paula. He’s said it many times. For all she may or may not be Paula is not a backstabbing phony and Simon knows that. Plus Simon knows that Paula is ratings GOLD, something Fox is soon to find out with Idol’s slow and steady descent into history now that Paula is gone and Ellen *pukes* has arrived.
I watch X-Factor and the format is far superiour to Idol. And given the long-standing Paula/Simon ‘fued’ about who judges better… to have them go UP against each other mentoring their talent and trying to win X-Factor would be spectacular to watch. Then again Simon has a serious case of the hots for the current X-Factor judge Cheryl so he may want to bring her over. They need 4 judges though so there would be room for 2 women (Paula, Cheryl) and 2 men (Simon and whoever he decides to put on the show)
as much as I love ellen…her being on Idol is a big WTF
shouldn’t someone more knowledgeable about the music industry be a judge?
ugh
I think that this is win-win for Simon. Fox gives him a whack of new cash or he gets the cash from the X-Factor either with Fox or some other network.
As far as music judging I only started to watch Idol the last couple of seasons and like the interaction between Simon and Paula.
Conflict between the sexes sells. Remember Moonlighting! How many shows are there where the show is great while the male and female protagonists have an attraction and lots of conflict. At some point they have these 2 hook-up and that always reduces the conflict and kills the show!
Simon knows this and I am sure he would love to have Paula around.
I too like Ellen but for idol, I agree WTF?
I think this is Simon’s last year. He’s savvy enough to leave while Idol’s still on top and the dwindling ratings the last few years indicate that’s not going to be the case much longer. He’ll remain on Idol as a producer but won’t be a judge after season 9. He’s got a goldmine in The X Factor and I bet he’ll ask Paula to be a judge. The real question is: when is Ryan’s contract up? I wouldn’t be surprised if Simon tried to get him as the host for TXF.
Sara, FOX signed Seacrest to a multi-year extension recently. He’s not going anywhere.