FOXHow does American Idol’s former network home, Fox, feel about the show returning on ABC a year after it ended? Not very good, apparently.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Fox Television Group Chairman and CEO Dana Walden said, “It’s obviously a tough one for us. We love American Idol…Yes, it feels bad knowing its coming back on another network.”
According to Walden, talks about bringing American Idol back at some point began a few months after the show ended last year, but the target date to do it was 2020. However, she says the show’s producer, Freemantle, “were determined to get the show back on the air as soon as possible.” Fox, however, told reporters she felt that “it would be extremely fraudulent to bring the show back that quickly…that our fans would not appreciate being told one thing and then bringing it back right away.”
She added, “It was too early to bring the show back…We did not see the fan excitement and enthusiasm for the show to come back that Freemantle [saw]. We just had a different set of facts. We did make an offer, Freemantle was definitely not interested.”
Walden also told reporters there are currently no plans to bring back Fox’s other singing competition show, The X Factor.
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