Logo

Fox Plays Down Early Success of NBC’s ‘The Voice,’ Says ‘X Factor’ and ‘Idol’ Are the ‘Gold Standard’

May 16, 2011  •  Post A Comment

With the stakes high for Fox in the battle of singing competition shows, the network had to say something about a strong new rival for its “American Idol” and “X Factor.”

Peter Rice, chairman of entertainment for Fox Networks Group, took time during the network’s unveiling today of its fall lineup to talk about competition from NBC’s “The Voice,” Entertainment Weekly reported.

Rice indicated the network isn’t particularly concerned about the surprising early success of “The Voice.” “There’s always competition on television,” he said, adding: “We feel we have the gold standard in both ‘Idol’ and ‘X Factor.’ In Simon Cowell we have the absolute star of the genre at the pinnacle of his game. There’s an excitement and a buzz around [‘X Factor’] that we’ve never seen before. We had more people show up for the audition than we ever had on ‘Idol.’”

Rice added that Fox will give “X Factor” the heaviest promotion of any of its new programs, including strong promotion during the baseball playoffs and World Series.

2 Comments

  1. I’m an avid American Idol viewer. It’s good to see ordinary people fulfilling their dreams. The producers just need to make sure it will not get boring.

  2. The X Factor is a rehashed American Idol from years ago, with Paula and Simon fake arguments and bitching. I think the public have moved on, even if they haven’t. The Voice is so much more than Judges criticizing acts. There is a huge buzz in the UK for The Voice, and that is the home of X Factor.

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)