Maybe it’s not set in stone yet, but it appears that American Idol is courting Howard Stern to replace Simon Cowell once his contract expires at the end of this season.
From the New York Post:
An insider said that producers of the hit Fox show say Stern, America’s highest-paid radio personality, is their top choice to take over from Cowell, who leaves at the end of this season. They approached the King of All Media after he repeatedly mentioned on-air that his exclusive Sirius XM Radio deal expires next January and he was open to other offers. Cowell was paid $50 million a year.
Read the entire article here.
Am I crazy or does anyone else think bringing on Stern would take away from the “family show” appeal of American Idol. Videos of Stern’s show with various adult film stars performing different sexual acts are readily available on the Internet. Furthermore, when Cowell gave his opinion on contestants it was enjoyable because he was very direct and not necessarily because he was out to be mean spirited. If Stern replaces him to be the “difficult” judge, it’ll be hard to argue that the conflict on the show isn’t manufactured more than it already is.