American Idol to Undergo “Retooling”

By On 05/31/2012 · 160 Comments · In American Idol

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CKx, the company that owns American Idol is to undergo a major retooling, according to a report from the New York Times. That is, after the company itself undergoes its own reorganization.  The company will consider changes to the voting system as part of the “refresh.”

CKx, owned by the capital equity firm Apollo Global Management, will be rechristened Thursday as Core Media Group. Among its initial plans are a full-scale review, in conjunction with executives from the Fox network, of “American Idol,” where ratings dropped by more than 30 percent this season. Within the next few weeks, the company also plans to acquire what the new president of Core, Marc Graboff, described as a “high-profile production company that has produced 25 series for cable networks.”

Core plans on managing Phillip and Jessica? Simon Fuller and his group, XIX, manage last year’s winner and runner up.  There are also plans to exploit the show further:

“We will certainly manage Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez,” Mr. Graboff said of the two recent finalists. He also has plans to exploit the show further as either cable or digital programming, including a potential series based on behind-the-scenes video of the contest and this year’s national tour.

I’ve been waiting for the show to be re-run on cable. Every other singing show does. Although, I’m not sure how much potential a behind-the-scenes show or concert special has at this point. They need to focus on strengthening the core product before they diversify.

“ ‘Idol’ is still the gold standard,” Mr. Graboff said. “It’s very viable, but it definitely needs to be refreshed and it will be.”

To that end, he said he had recruited the format’s creator, Simon Fuller, who departed in one of several changes in the management structure of CKx, to come back and submit ideas for how to tweak the “Idol” format. Some of these may be based on alterations instituted by international editions of the show. (It is sold in about 100 territories.)

Simon Fuller will be consulted. I wonder if Nigel Lythgoe will be part of the “refresh” team?  He wasn’t very happy when FOX executives suggested that the show should have been rebooted again last year in advance of new competition from The Voice and X Factor.

One of the areas Mr. Fuller is closely looking at, Mr. Graboff said, is the voting process. As many critics have noted, the show has produced five similar winners in a row. “They’re being called W.G.W.G.’s — white guys with guitars,” Mr. Graboff said. These outcomes have been interpreted as a result of so many young girls voting for the cutest male performer.

As for changes in the judging panel, Mr. Graboff said those calls are Fox’s to make.

An obstacle to changing the voting system is  that AT&T is a major sponsor.  Unlimited text messaging throughout the run of the series translates into revenue for the telecommunications company.  I can’t imagine they would be thrilled with attempts to limit the voting.

Honestly, I don’t believe that limiting the voting would change the outcomes of the competition, I really don’t. Changing the voting system is not at the top of my personal tweak list.  Actually, I think unlimited voting is one way to keep viewers engaged.  The more a fan believes they can control an outcome (I’ m going to vote 1000 times for my favorite!) the more they’re drawn in.   DON’T screw with America’s ability to control the outcome! that would include giving the judges more power over who advances.

I hope Core (Aka CKx) doesn’t panic and go crazy with the tweaks. The audition rounds need to be refreshed. The formula has become tedious.  But ANY changes that are made need to  keep the contestants at the forefront. The American Idol formula is the best because it allows viewers to become and stay  INVESTED in the contestants up until the very end.  Any changes Core makes needs to strengthen that investment, not weaken it.

 
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  • merkureye

    Great comments/suggestions all!  I really thought the faux-judges for the last two seasons have been inconsistent and manipulative (anybody remember JLo exhorting the audience to “pick-up the phone and vote” for Deandre?  I wonder how the other contestants felt?  I’d prefer the judges limit themselves to critiques of performances, not conduct fan club phona-thons. 

    It seems that there is consensus to continue unlimited voting to “keep the results in the voters hands.”  However, keeping the results in the voters hands led to Jessica Sanchez being eliminated at 7th place (w/o the save).  How would that have worked out for the credibility of the show?  Coupled with Pia last year (say what you want, she wasn’t a 9th place talent), obviously, some tweaking of the voting system is in order.  I am in favor of 1 hour of voting. 

    Too much emphasis has been on auditioners who go nowhere.  I believe only the top 24 should be showcased.  The viewers will not know who actually is a T24 until later.  What I saw this year, after the T24 reveal, was many who didn’t make it were given greater amounts of screen time than those that became semi-finalists.  No time to get fanbase momentum.  This does not make sense to me.

    Not enough of the sing-for-your-life rounds (T24 semi-finalists only please).  From what little was shown from those performances, they seem magnificent!  I watched Elise’s snippet of Its a Man’s World numerous times and enjoyed all 45 seconds of it.  I wonder why AI took all of the SFYL performances down?

    Aside from the show itself, the AI website is brutal.  Slow-slow-slow with too many commercials and low quality video playback of performances.  Searches for favorites or features are non-responsive.  The AI website is the only place to get the proprietary “judges critique” after the performances.  You would think that AI would like to capture has many “looks” from its viewers as it can but it is a chore to navigate there.  Invest in larger servers maybe?  AI’s website literally drives its potential viewers to YouTube because of its horrible website.

  • guinness 416

    It would be interesting to know what suggestions past contestants would have, and if they’ve ever been asked by the powers-that-be.

  • Anonymous

    The only valid voting system would be a ranking system but that is too cumbersome when you have a lot of contestants. Some people only vote for their favorite….which essentially means they are voting against everyone else….treating them as equals even though they aren’t. Other than I’ll Stand by You I never ranked Pia #1 but I never rated her last either.

  • steph6449

    Yeah, adding instruments was the mistake. It creates an unfair disadvantage for the contestants that “only” sing. “Oh, you have elite vocal talent that’s extremely rare? Too bad you aren’t a real artist!” It’s become ridiculous.

    Agree. Also the finalists who play guitar tend to get OTT-praised as singer-songwriters without ever having to put up any evidence for the audience to vote by as to whether they can really write good songs for themselves. 

    Some examples in prior years of contestants who were appealing apparently to a broad audience when singing the various performance show covers. But their songwriting and musical choices when they put out their own albums were of interest to a much narrower group of people.

  • http://twitter.com/aizjanika aizjanika

    I don’t like the idea of giving the judges more power to decide who stays. One of the things I most disliked about The Sing-Off and The Voice is that I felt a lot less engaged because the judges decided who stayed most of the time. On Idol, I really hate the save, and I wish they’d do away with it. I wouldn’t mind if they limited the voting. I agree that 50 votes per method is probably good. It’s enough that I can split them between several contestants early on, not so many that I wouldn’t bother to use at least some of them.

    I think having a sing-off between the bottom two like what they did on Dancing with the Stars this season (and one round of AI) would not work for me. If they did that, I’d probably stop watching entirely. I want the vote to decide who stays and who goes. If the judges are just going to decide anyway, why bother? There’s already so much manipulation on this show and I’d hate to give the judges any more power. I’d do away with the save entirely.

    Personally I’d like less Ford “music videos”, more process – how do the
    kids go about choosing a song? Who struggled to get a song cleared?
    Which contestant had ideas about staging? Who is the least fun to shop
    with for stage clothes?

    I like this idea. I’d love to see more of that. I also wouldn’t mind a behind-the-scenes show. I’d probably watch.

    potatorocks, I like some of your ideas, too. The only one I don’t like is #7. I didn’t watch the show early on, but I’ve seen a few videos on YouTube of earlier performances, and I wouldn’t like to see that. I prefer the live band throughout.

  • getaway1

    Yeah, adding instruments was the mistake. It creates an unfair disadvantage for the contestants that “only” sing. “Oh, you have elite vocal talent that’s extremely rare? Too bad you aren’t a real artist!” It’s become ridiculous.

    There seems to be a double standard.  It’s not just the guys who play instruments.  No body seems to have a problem with Crystal Bowersox playing the guitar (and piano).  Ironically, she probably played it more throughout her season than David Cook, Kris Allen, Scotty McCreery, Phillip Phillips in their seasons.

  • koshka

    “There seems to be a double standard.  It’s not just the guys who play instruments.  No body seems to have a problem with Crystal Bowersox playing the guitar (and piano).  Ironically, she probably played it more throughout her season than David Cook, Kris Allen, Scotty McCreery, Phillip Phillips in their seasons.”

    Not for me… I find all instruments distracting and misleading. There are many who see an instrument and equate it with “artistry”. I’m not just talking about winners. More than a few have limped along in the season when they should have been gone sooner. Sort of like Sanjaya’s hair.

    When I buy or listen to music for me its about the voice I can’t see if an artist is playing on their own recorded song. Besides she didn’t win, so she isn’t going to be the focal point. Other than John Mayer.. I can’t tell you who has played on their own record and who hasn’t.

  • mchcat

    I agree with a lot of the suggestions.  I vote on line and it is a pain – have to really like someone to do more than a few. 
    One thing I do wonder is why they put so many thru to Hollywood.  Maybe having a smaller group would allow more time to spotlight the ones that “might” make it to Vegas. Then again take a smaller group to Vegas.  If there are fewer contestants, there will be more time to add video, backgroud stories, etc.  I want to “know” the ones that make the 24.  I want to be invested in their stories.  I think this is really what puts Idol ahead of the others.  This year I didn’t think they did a very job of picking the 12.  The girls were all alike – big voices, loud notes.  The guys were a little different but most of them were like the girls – loud. That might be why Phil won – he was the only one of the 12 that did not use a loud, big voice.

  • Anonymous

    I agree. I don’t think changing the voting system will change anything. The demographic for idol has changed since S6.

  • Anonymous

    *sigh*

    How can the producers fix the problem with this show if they- apparently- can’t even identify the problem in the first place.  The problem with “Idol” has nothing to do with teen and tween-age girls power voting for the WGWGs they find cute;  if anything, it’s their mothers and grandmothers who are the culprits there.  It’s the fact that the producers force these contestants to perform the same old, tired songs, the judges have been absolutely awful since Simon Cowell left, and most of the contestants are JUST NOT INTERESTING.  Say what you will about the vocal quality of the contestants on the British versions of “The X-Factor” and “The Voice,” but I’d much rather watch complete and utter trainwrecks like Tyler James and Jedward than boring, Céline Dion wannabes like Jessica Sanchez and Pia Toscano.  Seriously, if the producers are just going to tweak the format so that they can ensure that their chosen plants are forced down our throats (see Amaro, Melanie), then they just don’t get it.

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