Business Unit News
American Idol Season Nine Performances Available Exclusively on the iTunes Store
Idol Show Themes Now Revealed in Advance on iTunes
Feb. 23, 2010 – Fox Broadcasting Company, 19 Entertainment,
FremantleMedia North America and Apple have once again partnered to make
contestant performances from Season Nine of American Idol available for
purchase and download exclusively on the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com)
the day following the performances. And for the first time, beginning with the
Top 12, IDOL show themes will be revealed in advance on iTunes along with
playlists of original songs by the original artists from which the contestants
may choose and which fans can preview and download.
This week, the Top 24 semifinalists will be split into two groups – 12 females
and 12 males – and each contestant will perform a song from the Top 10 Hits of
the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The 12 female singers will perform tonight,
Tuesday, Feb. 23 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), and the 12 male
singers will perform tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 24 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT
tape-delayed), on FOX.
Starting tonight, fans can pre-order IDOL performances from their favorite
contestants exclusively on a special American Idol area of the iTunes
Store. Pre-orders will download automatically the day after the performance show
airs. Fans can also purchase their favorite music performances starting tomorrow
for $1.29 each. Starting March 18, videos of Top 12 finalist performances will
also be available for purchase for $1.49 each.
And new for Season Nine, American Idol will reveal show themes not only
on-air, but also online with iTunes beginning with the Top 12. iTunes Store
customers will be able to purchase and download songs and playlists for IDOL
show themes in advance, giving fans the opportunity to preview and download the
same music the contestants will be listening to as they make their all-important
song choices.
“We look forward to another successful partnership with iTunes,” said Simon
Fuller, Founder, 19 Entertainment. “These special recorded performances from the
TV show allow these young performers to be recognized as legitimate recording
artists, which is a very exciting part of their American Idol journey.”
“IDOL fans can once again purchase their favorite performances from television’s
most popular show exclusively on the iTunes Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice
president of Internet Services. ”And for the first time ever, iTunes customers
will be able to preview and download songs that contestants will be choosing
from in advance of IDOL theme shows.”
FOX will also provide exclusive direct links to iTunes downloads from the
streaming performance videos on americanidol.com, the official website of
television’s No. 1 show. Fans will be able to simply click through to iTunes if
they want to purchase and download their favorite performances to own and enjoy
on their computer, iPod, iPhone or AppleTV.
iTunes 9 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Store and is available as a
free download from (www.itunes.com). Purchase and download of songs and videos
from the iTunes Store requires a valid credit card from a financial institution
in the country of purchase. American Idol music and video content is
available in the US and Canada only. Audio performances are $1.29 each.
Downloads can be viewed on a Mac or PC, iPod nano with video, fifth generation
iPod, iPod classic, iPod touch, iPhone or on a widescreen TV with Apple TV.
ABOUT American Idol
American Idol is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller,
Founder, 19 Entertainment; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO,
FremantleMedia North America; and Ken Warwick, Executive Producer,
FremantleMedia North America.
ABOUT 19 ENTERTAINMENT LTD
19 Entertainment Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of CKX, Inc. (NASDAQ: CKXE), is
engaged in the ownership, development and commercial utilization of
entertainment content. 19 Entertainment represents stars including David and
Victoria Beckham, Carrie Underwood, Andy Murray, Daughtry, Annie Lennox, Will
Young, Cathy Dennis, The Spice Girls and others. 19 Entertainment is the
producer/co-producer of several internationally successful TV formats, including
American Idol, “Little Britain USA” and SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. 19
Recordings is a major producer of music in North America with over 100 million
units sold in the last ten years by stars, including Adam Lambert, Kelly
Clarkson, David Cook, Jordin Sparks, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry and Kris Allen.
ABOUT FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY
Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) is a unit of News Corporation and the leading
broadcast television network among Adults 18-49. FOX finished the 2008-2009
season at No. 1 for the fifth consecutive year – a feat that hasn’t been
achieved since the mid-1990s – while continuing to dominate all network
competition in the more targeted Adults 18-34 and Teen demographics. This
season, FOX ranked No. 1 in the November broadcast television sweep, winning by
the largest margin of victory achieved by any network in the November sweep in
five years. In addition, FOX recently garnered its first fall season win ever
among Adults 18-49. FOX airs 15 hours of primetime programming a week as well as
late-night entertainment programming, major sports and Sunday morning news.
FREMANTLEMEDIA NORTH AMERICA
FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is the U.S. production division of global
media giant FremantleMedia. Based in Burbank, California, FMNA produces
entertaining and innovative programs for network, cable, syndicated and online
platforms, including the Emmy-nominated musical/reality phenomenon American
Idol (FOX), “America’s Got Talent” (NBC), “What Chilli Wants” (VH1), “Kirstie
Alley’s BIG LIFE” (A&E), “Secret Girlfriend” (Comedy Central), “Let’s Make A
Deal” (CBS), “Million Dollar Password” (CBS), “Family Feud” (syndicated) and the
longest-running game show in television history, “The Price Is Right” (CBS).
Contact:
Alex Gillespie
FOX
212-556-2519
alexandra.gillespie@fox.com
Jill Hudson
FOX
310-369-2953
jill.hudson@fox.com
Jennifer Sprague
FOX
310-369-5650
jennifer.sprague@fox.com
Jason Roth
Apple
408-862-2633
jroth@apple.com
Manfred Westphal
FremantleMedia North America
818-748-1148
Manfred.westphal@fremantlemedia.com
Eric Green
BWR for 19 Entertainment
310-248-6150
egreen@bwr-la.com