This morning FOX held a press conference to discuss the upcoming 2013-2014 season which included Season 13 of American Idol. It was widely expected that we’d have confirmed the news that all four Idol judges on the current panel were given the boot. Executives were not ready to make that news official.
Instead we’ve learned, thanks to MJs, that FOX is looking at returning to the format of just three American Idol 2014 judges instead of four faces on the panel.
FOX chairman Kevin Reilly answered “likely” when asked about the return to three judges instead of four. Considering the millions FOX has paid out to each judge (Mariah earned $18 million while Nicki pulled in $12 million) there would be significant savings in that move alone.
We’d welcome this change as the fewer talking heads in the early was a preferred style over what happened with Kara was added way back when.
There was no discussion if Ryan Seacrest is leaving American Idol, but considering his two-year contract renewal runs through the 2014 season there was little need for this topic to be raised.
What do you think of the potential for a return to three American Idol judges for 2014? Will you miss the larger panel?