'American Idol' Revival News: ABC Hopeful for a March 2018 Launch
The hit singing TV competition "American Idol" could make a comeback, if ABC network and Freemantle, the production company behind the franchise, can come to an agreement. If things go well, ABC could be looking at a possible "American Idol" relaunch on March 2018.
With the hit singing show off the air for a year now, ABC has come forward to make a bid for the franchise. Sources from within the TV network and Freemantle revealed that ABC has already given the "American Idol" production company their bid for the reality show, as reported by TMZ.
ABC has also inquired after perennial "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, who could be signing up as a co-host of "Live" alongside Kelly Ripa. According to sources, one compromise that the network is looking at in order to solve this conflict for Seacrest is to shoot "American Idol" in New York where Seacrest is based in.
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Freemantle, however, is adamant that New York City is not the place to film the singing reality show, sources revealed. Instead, they reportedly believe that "American Idol" will have to be filmed in Los Angeles. In any case, ABC is not willing to complicate Seacrest's hosting duties and has not approached the host about an "American Idol" gig just yet, according to TMZ.
ABC is not the first TV network to make a bid for the popular TV singing contest. Recently, networks NBC and FOX were both working out the details for a relaunch of "American Idol" until progress stalled due to unresolved issues between Freemantle and Core Media Group, according to the International Business Times.
Freemantle was initially inclined to give NBC the rights to the show until conflict arose with FOX coming in to negotiate as well. Core Media Group, for its part, is concerned that "American Idol" on ABC will compete with "America's Got Talent" on the same network. Meanwhile, talks among Freemantle, Core Media Group, and ABC continue.
