Will Simon Cowell's X-Factor American dream finally come true?
Sir Philip Green, the billionaire retailer who is effectively acting as Simon Cowell’s agent, flew to the United States last weekend as talks to take The X Factor across the Atlantic approach crunch point.
Sir Philip wants Fox, which is owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Times, to broadcast an American version of Mr Cowell’s X Factor. If Fox agrees, the extra deal could boost Mr Cowell’s annual income to something closer to his long-term target of $150 million (£93 million).
The plan is to bring over The X Factor as a condition for Mr Cowell signing on for two more seasons — in 2011 and 2012 — as a highly paid judge on American Idol, another talent programme that is also on Fox.
“Cowell wants control, and he can’t bear the fact that Idol is not his format,” one insider familiar with the talks said.
Idol is owned by 19 Entertainment, the Simon Fuller-run division of CKX. Mr Cowell gets an appearance fee, estimated to amount to $36 million a year, from the American show. Sir Philip is aiming for $45 million on behalf of Mr Cowell for Idol alone, when his existing contract expires next year, with further money for the X Factor format pushing the figure closer to the $150 million target.
However, Sir Philip’s dialogue with Fox — represented by Peter Rice, its chairman of entertainment — has become fraught. Although Mr Cowell’s participation is said to be “Fox’s to lose”, the issues remaining are both the amount of money to be paid and who would present the American X Factor programme. Cheryl Cole has been mentioned as a possible presenter for The X Factor, but Fox is unlikely to want to rely on British stars, such as the Girls Aloud singer, who are little known in the United States.
At the same time, NBC is lurking in the background. The rival American network already airs Mr Cowell’s show America’s Got Talent and was quick to show support for ITV’s X Factor when its Today programme beamed clips of a performance by “the new Susan Boyle” — Danyl Johnson, a teacher from Reading, who wowed the judges with his audition on the British show last month.
Mr Cowell, whose profile is as big in the US as it is in the UK, is also thought to be interested in appearing as a judge on America’s Got Talent — he does not do so at present — to help to build interest in a show that is not as popular as its ITV equivalent in its home country. However, it is not clear if Fox is keen to see Mr Cowell appear on a rival network.
An obstacle that has been cleared is that Mr Fuller — who has a veto over the deal — has agreed in principle to The X Factor moving to the US, as long as Mr Cowell is not a judge on the American version of the format. Mr Fuller and Mr Cowell have long been rivals and at one point Mr Fuller sued Mr Cowell, arguing that The X Factor breached the copyright of the Idol format. Their dispute was settled out of court.
The X Factor would air towards the end of the year in the US, to keep it away from Idol, which dominates Fox’s schedules in the spring.
American Idol is easily the most popular reality show in America, watched by an average of 26.6 million people per episode this year. Fox has never revealed how much advertising the programme generates, but TNS Media Intelligence estimated the figure for 2009 at $850 million.
Fox did not return calls seeking comment, but friends of Mr Rice indicated that the broadcaster was optimistic that it would be signing a deal with Sir Philip on behalf of Mr Cowell shortly.
Will Simon Cowell's X-Factor American dream finally come true? - Times Online
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