Via Deadline: American Idol parent company, CKX’s operating profits and revenue are down 17% this year. The company’s Idol-related expenses are up 17% from last year and 260% from 2 years ago. Ryan Seacrests‘ $45 million employment contract is a contributor to the decline.
Despite all the upbeat talk about Idol’s ratings resurgence so far this year, the show’s 1Q operating profit for CKX of $13.6 million was down 17% vs. the same period last year on revenues of $28.4 million, down 2%.
But CKX’s 48% operating profit margin for Idol in the three months that ended in March was the lowest 1Q result for the show since 2006, when CKX began reporting the show’s finances. CKX says that its Idol-related expenses came to $14.8 million. That’s up 17% from last year – and 260% from two years ago. The biggest change appears to be the $45 million employment contract that CKX struck with Seacrest in 2009 that locks him in through 2012. CKX has already paid Seacrest $33.5 million; Fox, in turn, pays CKX $5 million a year for Seacrest.
Another change: Fox used to pay $5 million a year to Idol creator Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment for its relationship with Sony Music..
CKX says that it’ll do just fine without Fox’s $5 million check: Universal will provide a “significantly higher” payment to CKX for each Idol-related recording it sells.
Read the press release from CKX HERE
