LAS VEGAS – CTV and FremantleMedia Wednesday announced the signing of a long-term agreement which means the Canadian broadcaster will continue to own the rights in Canada to the popular American Idol and Canadian Idol franchises for years to come.
The announcement was made at this week’s North American Television Program Executives in Las Vegas by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Idol-owner FremantleMedia North America, David Ellender, managing director, Fremantle International Distribution, together with Susanne Boyce, CTV president of programming and chair of the CTV Media Group.
Brokered by Lisa Honig, vice-president sales, USA and Canada, Fremantle International Distribution through its Canadian agent, Media Group International, the deal is for seasons six, seven, eight and nine (season five just started).
“The long-term commitment cements CTV’s ongoing relationship with the program that began in September 2002 when the broadcaster signed on for American Idol’s Season 1 two-part finale,” says the press release.
“Since then, American Idol has become a blockbuster sensation in Canada with each season outperforming the previous one,” it continues. Last spring, season four of American Idol in Canada finished as the country’s number two program. More than three million viewers tuned into the January 17, 2006 two-hour premiere of season five.
Simultaneously, FremantleMedia has inked a multi-year extension with CTV for the format rights to Canadian Idol, locking CTV into seasons four through eight of the series. Season 3 recently generated 38 million votes, more than the country’s population, while averaging more than two million viewers per episode.
"For CTV, Canadian and American Idol are much more than just complementary. In fact, the existence of one magnifies the other. We look forward to a renewed commitment with our partners at FremantleMedia,” said Boyce.
American Idol is the US version of the international Idols format created by Simon Fuller (the mean judge) of 19TV and developed by FremantleMedia. FremantleMedia has produced local versions of the format in 32 countries to date.
