Is ‘American Idol’ Coming Back? NBC And Fox In A Bidding War Over Singing Comp


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In case you’ve been missing American Idol in the brief time the singing competition has been off-air, it looks like there is hope. The biggest issue now will be figuring out which network will air the once-popular singing competition and how much it is going to cost them. TMZ reports that an American Idol revival is alive and well while both Fox and NBC are in talks to pay Freemantle Media for rights to put it back on TV.

Apparently, it was NBC who stirred up interest in American Idol, a show that previously aired on Fox for 15 seasons. It turns out that, despite canceling American Idol, Fox wasn’t necessarily done with the show forever and figured they might revive the singing competition at some point in the future. However, when it became clear that NBC was serious about acquiring the singing competition that paved the way for so many others, they decided to give NBC a run for their money and entered a bidding war in an attempt to secure rights to the show for themselves.

Part of the reason that NBC reportedly wants to get ahold of American Idol and air the former Fox hit on their own network is to take care of some issues with their own singing competition, The Voice. The current singing hit starring Adam Levine as a judge is running two cycles per year, which seems to be wearing the judges thin.

Rumor has it that Adam Levine would like to scale back The Voice and only run one season per year. If NBC were able to acquire the rights to air American Idol, they could grant Levine’s request and alternate The Voice and American Idol, giving each show just one season per year.

It has been explained that American Idol didn’t get canceled due to lack of interest. The issue was actually the cost to keep the singing competition on the air compared to the ratings it was pulling in just didn’t make sense. Considering that in the final season, huge paychecks were going to the host Ryan Seacrest as well as the superstar judges Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr., and Keith Urban, the cost of producing American Idol was very high. With more than 10 million fans tuning in for the premiere and more than 14 million watching the finale, it’s safe to say that even in the last days, American Idol was still a hit.

If NBC can acquire American Idol, they also have shown interest in bringing back Ryan Seacrest as their host. However, Fox also has said during their bidding war with NBC that if they bring American Idol back to its original home, they also would consider a return for Seacrest as well. As far as the judges go, NBC plans to bring back a whole new panel if they do get the green light to bring the singing competition back and that would cut costs and make it worth it to air the show again.

When American Idol returns to TV screens is still up in the air along with which network it will air on. The projected air date for a rebooted American Idol is reportedly either Summer 2018 or at the beginning of 2019 during the mid-season when the replacement shows get their chance.

Are you excited to hear that American Idol is coming back at some point in the next year and a half? Do you think Fox or NBC would do a better job with the singing competition? Sound off in the comments section below.

[Featured Image by By 19 Entertainment, FremantleMedia. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]

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