Discussions are currently ongoing between NBC and FremantleMedia to bring American Idol back to life! Reports allege that Fremantle, the producer of the singing competition television series, pitched the idea to NBC and NBC is now contemplating how it would be able to integrate the show into its existing programming slate.
Representatives for NBC and Fremantle declined to comment on the matter and nothing’s been confirmed yet, but if American Idol does return to the small screen, there’s a high possibility the current NBC singing competition, The Voice, would be cut from two cycles a year to a single cycle.
American Idol debuted on Fox in 2002 and carried on for 15 seasons. Its first eight seasons cemented the show’s prominence as the highest-rated show on television. American Idol hit its peak in 2006 and averaged a 12.4 rating among the 18-49 demographic. According to Nielsen live-plus-same day numbers, their audience size totaled 36.4 million viewers.
Since 2006, American Idol’s ratings began to decline steeply, until Fox no longer found the show worth the financial or scheduling investment. The singing competition series closed in 2016 with an average 2.2 rating and only 9.1 million viewers. But before the final season aired last year, everyone was already talking about an American Idol revival.
“When you’ve got a franchise that has this kind of heritage and you’ve got a franchise that generates X amount of millions of people, if it sustains, does that mean it’s the end?” said longtime host Ryan Seacrest. “I’m not so sure”.
It will be difficult for NBC to find a good place for American Idol without heavily altering their current unscripted slate. Other talent competitions under NBC include The Voice, America’s Got Talent and upcoming dance competition series, World Of Dance.
#Peace.Love.AmericanIdol
