The spoilers at Idol Pad are reporting that American Idol will come back for season 14, but in a scaled back version.
“A more compact version of Idol as it enters its golden years.” Apparently, experts believe that the key to stabilization is decreasing the time commitment expected of viewers. “At this point, ‘less is more’ is where its headed.” Plans are already in order to scale back season 14 by about a month as well as consolidate the show into one-night-per-week, rather than the traditional two-night format.
I’m sure there are heated discussions going on behind the scenes right now, as the ratings for American Idol drop lower than they have ever been. But it’s important to note, that at this stage of the game, it’s likely that no final decisions have been made.
Having said that, I feel pretty certain Idol will be back for at least one more season, but with budget cuts. It could mean scaling back on expensive talent (Bye Jlo. See ya later expensive producers who didn’t help the bottom line.), cutting back to one night a week, eliminating rounds, etc.
For instance, they could cut down the audition process to just three or 4 cities–East, West, Midwest and South and only air auditions for a week or so.
Or to shorten the season, there could be double eliminations during the live rounds, (which are lower rated than the auditions) bringing the show to the finale in half the time (I would hate this. Live rounds are my favorite. But economically, it makes sense).
It’s hard to imagine the mighty Idol being gutted like this. If airing a tepid version of the show is what it will take to bring it back next season, maybe it’s time to pull the plug entirely.
Via The Idol Pad
