There has been a lot of talk as to whether American Idol host Ryan Seacrest will remain on the hit music competition program and if Fox entertainment executives have anything to say about it he’ll remain.
Speaking at the network’s TCA session on Sunday Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly says the network will work incredibly hard to keep Seacrast on their No. 1 rated show right alongside Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez.
According to Reilly:
“As we know it is a much harder job than meets the eye,” and “I think everyone has come to realize the value of Ryan Seacrest. It’s very hard to imagine [ American Idol ] without Ryan. We certainly want to keep him.”
Seacrest is currently under a $15 million annual contract that will expire at the end of the shows 11th season and multiple sources say Fox executives want Seacrest to take a pay cut, something Ryan will likely refuse as Jennifer Lopez is said to be earning $20 million for the new season.
While Reilly says the network is working hard to secure a new Ryan Seacrest hosting deal his own representatives have reportedly become frustrated with the entire process. According to one source:
“Fox has been doing nothing, they’e been sitting there. Until [Thursday] they hadn’t called Ryan.”
The ball truly does fall in the court of Ryan Seacreast as he is already a well sought after figure in Hollywood. Aside from his soon to expire Comcast NBAUniversal contract which sees him hosting a daily news shot, red-carpet events and other TV spots he is also a successful producer with his Ryan Seacrest productions creating top-rated shows including the Kardashian franchise and the upcoming Bravo show Shahs of Sunset. Ryan can also be heard on his syndicated radio show On Air With Ryan Seacrest .
Seacrest could potential play his soon to expire NBCUniversal contract off the Fox entertainment offer to weigh his options. It’s not often someone in Seacrest’s position (a show host) can so easily walk away from $10 to $15 million per year but for Ryan his options are quite endless. There’s even talks that Seacrest is being “groomed” to eventually take over for Today Show host Matt Lauer. NBC denies the Today Show rumor but in many ways it would make sense given Seacrest’s crossover appeal and industry connections.
So you think Ryan Seacrest will stay with American Idol and continue to build out his brand elsewhere at the same time. I mean you can literally hear him on the radio, watch him on TV and then watch him report about people on TV and the radio. He’s already everywhere, it’s just a matter of determining if he stayed everywhere all at one.
