There was no way Fox was gonna lose two American Idol judges in one week.
With just a year left on his contract, Simon Cowell is reportedly on the verge of signing a new, three-year deal with the top-rated show on television. It would be worth $45 million.
While Fox has no comment at this time, Robert Sillerman – the CEO of CXX, the parent company of 19 Entertainment – went on record today, saying:
“We’ve heard from Fox, who has asked us for approval for Simon Cowell to appear for three more years on Idol. They, in their negotiations with Cowell, have asked us to pre-approve him not only for American Idol ’09, which has begun taping, but they have also asked us for approval for ’10 and ’11, indicating to us that they’re finishing their negotiation with Cowell. We did grant approval for that quite obviously.”
Reportedly, Paula Abdul was offered around $8 million/year. Think the pay discrepancy between her and Simon is fair?