Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Fox's "X Factor" to have two hosts

Wed Apr 6, 2011 7:34pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Simon Cowell's upcoming talent show "The X Factor" will have two hosts, just like his old series "American Idol" did in its first season.

Cowell told CNN's Piers Morgan the show would be hosted by a man and a woman, whom he declined to identify. He is scheduled to hold a conference call with journalists on Thursday when he may unveil additional tidbits.

"Idol" was hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman in its first season in 2002, but Seacrest has flown solo since.

Additionally, the head of the production company behind both "X Factor" and "Idol" said she would ensure there's no cannibalization between the two Fox shows.

"Our job is to make sure the two shows are as distinct as possible," Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of FremantleMedia North America, told The Hollywood Reporter.

"For example: We're making sure there are two entirely different teams with no overlap in terms of individuals who are working on both shows. And from a format and tonal standpoint, they're very different. In terms of casting the judges, again, we're making sure the looks are different."

Besides Cowell, only one "X Factor" judge has been announced so far: Antonio "L.A." Reid, the former Universal Music executive who helped propel Justin Bieber to superstardom.

"The X Factor" will debut on Fox in the fall. Auditions began last month in Los Angeles, and will resume in Miami on Thursday; Newark, NJ, on April 14; Seattle on April 20; Chicago on April 27; and Dallas on May 26.



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Glenn Beck to leave Fox News daily show

NEW YORK | Wed Apr 6, 2011 4:01pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Conservative television host Glenn Beck is leaving his daily television show with cable channel Fox News, amid falling ratings.

The controversial 47-year-old radio and television host "intends to transition off of his daily program," called "Glenn Beck," later this year, Fox News and Beck's production company, Mercury Radio Arts, said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

Fox said Beck will "develop and produce a variety of television projects" for Fox News and other platforms in the future, but did not give details.

Beck's show draws an average of about 1.9 million viewers, dwarfing the ratings for other cable news shows in the time slot.

But his ratings for the first quarter of this year are down 30 percent in average viewership. In the coveted cable news demographic of viewers ages 25 to 54, his ratings have fallen nearly 40 percent.

Beck, a libertarian and a favorite of the Tea Party political movement, was a key speaker at a huge "Restoring Honor" public rally in Washington last year.

But his scathing comments on topics ranging from global warming to political conspiracy theories have proved controversial and seen him lampooned by other TV hosts, notably Jon Stewart at Comedy Central.

In January several hundred rabbis called on Fox News to sanction Beck for repeated use of Nazi and Holocaust imagery and for airing attacks on World War Two survivor and financier George Soros.

In an open letter to Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corp, which owns Fox, the rabbis also demanded an apology from Fox News chief Roger Ailes for characterizing Beck's Jewish critics as nothing more than "left-wing rabbis."

Time magazine television critic James Poniewozik told Reuters on Wednesday that in the past, Beck's Fox News show succeeded because the host knew how to "put on a spectacle," but that has changed recently.

"I get a sense watching the show that it's become more sort of just sour and joyless," Poniewozik said.

Beck said in a statement on Wednesday; "I cannot repay Roger (Ailes) for the lessons I've learned and will continue to learn from him and I look forward to starting this new phase of our partnership."

Beck also has a syndicated radio show that reaches 10 million weekly listeners and is heard on more than 400 radio stations across the country.

(Reporting by Christine Kearney and Alex Dobuzinskis, editing by Jill Serjeant)



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Grammy organizers drop categories in big overhaul

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