“American Idol“ set for revival at ABC

ABC has a deal in place with producers FremantleMedia and Core Media Group to revive “American Idol”.

The broadcast network and the production companies have settled on a framework for an agreement to bring back the long-running singing-competition series. According to sources, the Alphabet is eyeing a March premiere for the show, which would potentially air on Sunday nights

ABC, which has yet to close the deal, had passed on “Idol” after hearing a pitch for it earlier this year. At that time, NBC had emerged as the lead network to pick up a revival. But they backed away from a deal, concerned that “Idol” could negatively impact singing competition series “The Voice”, and turned off by a high asking price from the producer.

Yet to be decided is whether or how longtime host Ryan Seacrest could return to the franchise. Seacrest this week was announced as the new co-host of ABC syndicated morning program “Live!” with Kelly Ripa.

One potential name that has been floated to join the revived series is that of Kelly Clarkson, the singer who won the first season of “Idol” and went on to achieve major pop-star status.

To land the show, ABC had to outbid Fox, which moved aggressively in recent weeks to bring the series back to its air. “Idol” ran on Fox for 15 seasons beginning in 2002. For eight consecutive seasons, beginning in 2003-04, it was the highest-rated show on television.

ABC is expected to announce the return of “Idol” this month at its upfront presentation in New York.

Source: Variety