The network defended its decision to revive the reality singing
competition just one year after it wrapped up its final season of Fox —
despite criticisms from the show's former network about it returning too soon.
"From where we sit, we feel it's a great time to bring the series
back," Channing Dungey, ABC's entertainment president, told reporters
Tuesday during a conference call, according to Entertainment Weekly.
"What I love about it, personally, (is that 'Idol' is) about uplifting
stories about people who make their dreams come true — and that's our
sweet spot at ABC," she continued. "All of our franchises deal in that.
For me, that makes it feel like the perfect home at the perfect time."
Dungey's defense comes a day after Fox TV chairman Dana Walden slammed
the production company in charge of "Idol," FremantleMedia, for bringing
back the series and selling it to ABC so quickly.
Walden said Fox — which did place a bid for "Idol" before losing out to
ABC — invested heavily in a marketing campaign dubbing the 2016
competition as the "farewell season."
"We spent about $25 million sending a clear message that it was the
farewell season," Walden said Monday in a conference call, according to EW.
"It felt to us it would be extremely fraudulent to bring the show back
quickly, that fans would not appreciate being told one thing and then
having the show brought back right away."
The series ran for its first 15 seasons of Fox but suffered declining ratings in its final years.
ABC was announced as the returning show's new home earlier this month. Dungey says her network has some changes in store.
"Absolutely, this is going to be ABC's version of 'American Idol' so
we're very excited," she said. "I think you'll see when we unveil our
version of the show that it's going to have a very clear ABC hallmark
and brand on it at that point."
The show has not named a host yet, but Ryan Seacrest — who emceed each of its 15 seasons on Fox — has reportedly had discussions about coming back.
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