Fox To Order More American Idol Amid Rumors of Simon Cowell’s Departure

To Fox, it doesn’t matter if Simon Cowell is back for another season of American Idol.  The network will order more episodes of America’s most watched show. Fox’s contract with Idol producers 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia will expire at the end of 2011 and the network is hoping to seal another deal soon for another three seasons after that.

A thinning talent pool is the last thing on Fox executive’s minds since the show may be facing its biggest problem yet: no Simon Cowell. “The idea that for the next five years, I’d be doing exactly what I’ve been doing for the past five years, . . . . the thought is just too depressing,” Cowell told The Hollywood Reporter in late April. Rumors have been spreading like a wildfire over the possibility that Cowell will leave American Idol at the end of 2010, per Simon’s brother Tony via his podcast . This, along with a proposed U.S. entry of the U.K.’s  X-Factor, may cause problems for ratings of the longtime television program.