New American Idol. Thoughts?

[seatownmedia]

Perhaps too soon to make a judgement, but that has never stopped anyone before. Personally, I couldn't catch any real vibe from it. While the Fox version had run its course, I didn't see anything tonight on ABC that made it much better. In some sense, it even seems even more produced and scripted than the Fox series. I think one nice thing about the old series is that is could be raw and atleast pretend to be unscripted at times. Don't see that yet with the ABC series. But again, it is early. Not going to be "must-see" for this viewer after the first episode.

 

[umfan]

Hard to see how ABC makes money on this. They are paying Katy Perry $25M a year to be a judge. Seacrest is also getting a lot of money. Very high production costs, no back end in syndication. Unless the ratings are spectacular, I'm not sure this reboot lasts very long.

 

[Prescott Joe]

But it is a way to highlight the the no-talent wannabees of today's generation......

 

[TheBigA]

Hard to see how ABC makes money on this. They are paying Katy Perry $25M a year to be a judge. Seacrest is also getting a lot of money. Very high production costs, no back end in syndication. Unless the ratings are spectacular, I'm not sure this reboot lasts very long.

Keep in mind that ABC isn't paying Katy Perry or any of the talent. They get paid by the producers (Freemantle). ABC pays a fee for the show. They knew what the cost was going in. ABC is owned by Disney, and Disney is in the event creation business. They know the costs are high going in. They will use the show to cross-promote other things. Good Morning America, the CMA Awards next fall. Watch for Idol to originate at their theme parks. Disney can make money in ways that Fox never could.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

http://www.adweek.com/tv-video/can-american-idols-return-hit-the-right-notes-for-abc/

Here is adweek's take on American Idol on ABC.

 

[TheBigA]

Here are the early numbers. Idol topped the night:

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/tv-ratings-sunday-march-11-2018/

 

[Ccook55]

Fremantle must have awfully deep pockets to pony up $25 million to Katy Perry. Makes what Drew Carey and Wayne Brady make combined look like lunch money.

 

[TheBigA]

Fremantle must have awfully deep pockets to pony up $25 million to Katy Perry. Makes what Drew Carey and Wayne Brady make combined look like lunch money.

Freemantle is owned by RTL, a billion dollar entertainment conglomerate. But they charged ABC a multi-million dollar rights fee for the show that cover those costs.

 

[TheBigA]

Fremantle must have awfully deep pockets to pony up $25 million to Katy Perry. Makes what Drew Carey and Wayne Brady make combined look like lunch money.

Freemantle is owned by RTL, a billion dollar entertainment conglomerate. But they charged ABC a multi-million dollar rights fee for the show that cover those costs.

 

[Megatron]

I really enjoyed American Idol it will always be must see TV for me.

 

[Ccook55]

Freemantle is owned by RTL, a billion dollar entertainment conglomerate. But they charged ABC a multi-million dollar rights fee for the show that cover those costs.

There are only two "E's" in Fremantle's name.

 

[umfan]

Keep in mind that ABC isn't paying Katy Perry or any of the talent. They get paid by the producers (Freemantle). ABC pays a fee for the show. They knew what the cost was going in. ABC is owned by Disney, and Disney is in the event creation business. They know the costs are high going in. They will use the show to cross-promote other things. Good Morning America, the CMA Awards next fall. Watch for Idol to originate at their theme parks. Disney can make money in ways that Fox never could.

Freemantle needs to recover the costs from ABC to make any money. This is so obvious it shouldn't require comment. How, exactly, would Freemantle finance this if ABC were not going to reimburse them? As noted, this is not a show with a backend. There are the international sales, but they need to recover their nut on the US show, at a minimum.

 

[TheBigA]

Freemantle needs to recover the costs from ABC to make any money.

Freemantle owns the show, they own a big piece of the music being sold on iTunes each week, and they own a piece of the winner and any finalists who get record contracts. There's a lot of money there, and it's the kind of money that pays after the season is over. That's a pretty healthy "backend." They also do some in-show sponsorships that make them additional money.

 

[umfan]

You can bet that ABC is covering all, or nearly all, of the production costs in their deal with Fremantle. Therefore, it does matter to ABC, a lot what Katy Perry and the other judges are making.

 

[TheBigA]

You can bet that ABC is covering all, or nearly all, of the production costs in their deal with Fremantle. Therefore, it does matter to ABC, a lot what Katy Perry and the other judges are making.

Jennifer Lopez got the same amount when the show was at Fox. ABC isn't a poor company, nor are they innocent in the world of celebrity salaries.

 

[Don CT]

The reason Fox bailed on Idol was because ratings were dipping to The Voice. I doubt ABC drastically changed the format much and depending on how the Seacrest controversy progresses that might be bad news for Idol.

 

[TheBigA]

The Voice beat Idol by 3-1/2 million viewers Monday night in head-to-head competition.

Numbers were 12 million to 8-1/2 million. It'll be interesting to see how ABC responds.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.fiercecable.com/video/american-idol-sets-exclusive-deal-amazon-prime-u-k-streaming-first

Update Fremantle has a deal with Amazon to air American Idol on Amazon Prime in the UK.

The revival of “American Idol” on ABC is landing exclusively on Amazon Prime in the United Kingdom, which producer FremantleMedia says is a first.

Under the terms of the deal, new episodes of “American Idol” will air two days after they show in the United States.


“American Idol has launched to fantastic ratings on ABC in the US and we are excited that Amazon Prime Video will become the exclusive home of the new series in the U.K. with this unique deal. To see one of the biggest entertainment shows on a streaming service is a not only a first, but testament to the appetite for American Idol and will be a whole new way to reach fans of the series,” said Jamie Lynn, executive vice president and head of sales and distribution in EMEA for FremantleMedia International. The deal with Amazon Prime in the U.K. comes amid several other international distribution deals just set by company. The new global agreements include CTV (Canada), Foxtel (Australia), Canal Sony (Latin America), MNET (Africa), SIC (Portugal and Portuguese-speaking Africa), Intervision (Greece), Three (New Zealand), Fjarskipti (Iceland), Novalifε (Greece), Sia All Media (Lithuania), Marjan Television (Farsi-speaking MENA), beIN (MENA) and beIN Series Home&Entertainment (Turke

 

[landtuna]

After "discovering" only one significant talent over its many seasons I would not expect Idol to do any better during its ABC run. Personally, I think having the talentless contestants competing by trying to emulate successful performers within their respective genres is self defeating. There is a reason none of these people sings the Elvis Presley songbook.

 

[TheBigA]

After "discovering" only one significant talent over its many seasons

I'd suggest Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood are significant. But here's a full list of winners, and what they're doing now:


http://www.etonline.com/news/179150_the_complete_list_of_american_idol_winners_where_are_they_now

There are several non-winners who have gone on to other "significant" things. As for the songs they sing, they're given a list of licensed songs from which to choose. I seem to recall quite a few picking Elvis songs over the years.

Personally I don't see the role of Idol as making anyone a star. It's about making an entertaining TV show. What happens after is up to that artist and their record label.