American Idol season 16: What’s the latest on Ryan Seacrest negotiations?
Yet, the more that we do hear, the more that it appears ABC is realizing that getting the host back is essential. They also realize that they have made a number of different mistakes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, one of the biggest ones seems to be production company Fremantle presented an offer to Seacrest that was far below his worth in the midst of the Katy Perry hire. The argument at the time was that the new offer would allow Ryan to have more flexibility, and not force him to work as much on the show. Yet, it still felt like an insult given that the original offer to him was much higher.
Since that time, the folks behind the scenes at ABC have tried to find new ways to hand money over to Ryan, including giving him potentially an executive producer credit on the show that he first started on back over fifteen years ago. It made him into a household name, and he is the only onscreen personality who has been a part of the show for every single season to date.
While there are many different issues weighing on Seacrest (including a simple desire to scale back and have a little bit more of a normal life), we do think that he will eventually find a way back to the show. It’s such a big part of who he is, and with that, it’s hard to imagine it happening without him. It would also be terrible for ABC to find a new host, given the fact that this is a far harder job than anyone would think that it is. You have to be sympathetic to the contestants while also being entertaining to the audience and be able to manage time effectively. Things move along on American Idol at a fairly rapid pace, and any new judge for the show needs to be able to properly handle that.
Do you think that eventually American Idol and Seacrest will get a new deal done for the season? Be sure to share below!
Meanwhile, head over to this link to get some further news right now when it comes to the show, including more on what is coming up next. (Photo: ABC.)