"AMERICAN IDOL" PERFORMANCES AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON THE iTUNES STORE
Performances from Season Eight Available on iTunes for Purchase and Download the Next Day
Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Digital Media, 19 Entertainment, FremantleMedia North America and Apple have once again partnered to make contestant performances from Season Eight of AMERICAN IDOL, television's most popular show, available exclusively on the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) the day following the performance.
Auditions ended last week as the Top 36 semifinalists were revealed. This week the 36 hopefuls will be split into three groups of 12, and for three consecutive weeks one group will perform. Kicking off today the first group of 12 semifinalists from AMERICAN IDOL will perform live and fans can purchase the music performances for 99 cents per song starting tomorrow. Starting March 11, the video of Top 12 finalist performances will also be available for purchase. And beginning today, fans can pre-order performances of their favorite contestants during the show from the iTunes Store, which will be downloaded automatically the day after the show airs.
"We broke records last year on AMERICAN IDOL with the number of downloads we sold. This year, with such a talented group of singers and a proven partnership with iTunes, we hope to be even more successful and break even more records," said show creator and 19 Entertainment Founder/CEO Simon Fuller.
"We've created another special section on the iTunes Store for IDOL fans with an incredible array of music and video performances from television's most popular show," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president Internet Services. "AMERICAN IDOL viewers will once again have the ability to purchase and download IDOL performances from iTunes to enjoy at home or on the go."
FOX will also provide exclusive direct links to iTunes downloads from the free streaming performance videos on americanidol.com (www.americanidol.com), the official website of the show and home to MyIdol, the Internet's largest AMERICAN IDOL fan site. Fans will be able to simply click through to iTunes if they want to purchase their favorite performances to own and enjoy on their computer, iPod, iPhone or AppleTV.
The iTunes Store is the world's most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 10 million songs, over 40,000 TV episodes and over 4,000 films including over 1,000 in stunning high definition video. With Apple's legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as iTunes Movie Rentals, integrated podcasting support, the ability to turn previously purchased tracks into complete albums at a reduced price, and seamless integration with iPod� and iPhone, the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac� and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.
Pricing & Availability
iTunes 8 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 99 cents 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 and CEO of 19 Entertainment; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; and Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.
ABOUT 19 ENTERTAINMENT LTD
Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment Ltd. is recognized as a lead creator, provider and promoter of globally successful entertainment and music brands of today. The company has attracted a unique team of exceptionally creative executives, who work together to integrate and leverage activity across television, sports, film, touring, merchandising, music publishing, recording and artist management.
19 Founder/CEO Simon Fuller has developed and managed some of the biggest entertainment properties of our time, with credits that include the creation of TV phenomenon AMERICAN IDOL and SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, and the HBO series "Little Britain USA." 19's unique talent includes legendary musical icon Annie Lennox, country music sensation Carrie Underwood, the pop group sensation Spice Girls, and IDOL alumni Chris Daughtry, David Cook, supermodel Claudia Schiffer and soccer icon David Beckham.
ABOUT CKX, INC.
CKX, Inc. is engaged in the ownership, development and commercial utilization of entertainment content. To date, the Company has focused on acquiring globally recognized entertainment content and related assets, including the rights to the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley, the operations of Graceland, the rights to the name, image and likeness of Muhammad Ali and proprietary rights to the IDOLS television brand, including the American Idol series in the United States and local adaptations of the IDOLS television show format which, collectively, air in over 100 countries around the world. On June 1, 2007 CKX entered into a merger agreement with 19X, Inc., a private company owned and controlled by Mr. Sillerman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CKX, and Simon R. Fuller, a director of CKX and the Chief Executive Officer of 19 Entertainment Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CKX, that will result in the sale of CKX to 19X. For more information about CKX, Inc., visit its corporate website at www.ckx.com.
ABOUT FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY
Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) is a unit of News Corporation. FOX finished the 2007-2008 season as the No. 1 network for the fourth consecutive year among Adult 18-49 viewers, while continuing to dominate all network competition in the more targeted Adults 18-34 and Teen demographics. Additionally, FOX won the seasonal crown among all viewers for the first time in the network's 21-year history. FOX airs 15 hours of primetime programming a week as well as late-night entertainment programming, major sports and Sunday morning news.
ABOUT FOX DIGITAL MEDIA
A division of the Fox Entertainment Group, Fox Digital Media (FDM) manages digital media strategy for all Fox content. In the past year, the group negotiated the groundbreaking digital revenue sharing agreement with Fox affiliates and also led the FOX on Demand effort, which brought prime time series to the Internet on an ad supported basis through MySpace.com and the MyFoxLocal web sites. Additionally, the group developed VOD and Electronic sell-through deals for film and television product, including deals with iTunes, Amazon, Bittorrent, AOL, MSN, MovieLink and CinemaNow.
ABOUT FREMANTLEMEDIA ENTERPRISES & FREMANTLEMEDIA
FremantleMedia Enterprises is the brand extension arm of FremantleMedia, offering a one-stop-shop for all Licensing, Distribution and Home Entertainment. It is a division of FremantleMedia, one of the largest international creators and producers of entertainment brands in the world with leading prime time drama, serial drama, entertainment and factual entertainment programming in over 40 countries worldwide. FremantleMedia is a subsidiary of RTL Group, Europe's largest television and radio broadcast company, which is 90% owned by Bertelsmann AG, an integrated media and entertainment company that commands leading positions in the world's media markets. For further information, visit http://www.fremantlemedia.com.
ABOUT 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 television programs for network, cable and syndicated platforms, including the Emmy-nominated musical/reality phenomenon AMERICAN IDOL (FOX), American Idol Rewind (syndicated), America's Got Talent (NBC), OSBOURNES: RELOADED (FOX), Celebrity Family Feud (NBC), HOLE IN THE WALL (FOX), Farmer Wants A Wife (The CW), The Phone (MTV), Rock The Cradle (MTV), Can You Duet (CMT), The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency (Oxygen), Match Game (TBS), Family Feud (syndicated), Million Dollar Password (CBS), and the longest-running game show in television history, The Price Is Right (CBS).
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