American Idol Producers Would Like To Replace Mariah Carey With Jennifer Lopez?

"American Idol" ratings have been so anemic this year that the producers considered dumping rookie judge Mariah Carey and bringing back Jennifer Lopez in midseason, according to a story in the Hollywood Reporter.

Fox strongly denied there was any truth to this scenario, suggesting it was an inaccurate extrapolation from an accurate report that "Idol" would like to bring Lopez back for the season finale.

The Hollywood Reporter said "Idol" producers only backed away from a Lopez-for-Carey swap when Carey's team threatened legal action.



Carey reportedly makes a staggering $18 million to be an "Idol" judge, for which "Idol" producers hoped she would anchor a judging panel that would halt the show's rating slide of recent years.

Instead, the slide has accelerated. Total viewership has hovered around 12-13 million, about half the audience of the show's heyday. Last week's Thursday results show had fewer viewers than a rerun of "The Big Bang Theory" on rival CBS.



Fox executives, including Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly, have noted for several years that even if "Idol" isn't as popular as it was in its prime, it is still one of the most-watched shows on TV and one of the most profitable, getting higher rates for its ads than almost any prime-time show outside of Sunday night football.

But there are signs of erosion there, too, since the "Idol" audience is getting older in a medium where advertisers want younger.

NBC's "The Voice" last week drew a 5.2 share of 18- to 49-year-old viewers, to a 4.3 share for "Idol."

"Idol" producers hoped to reboot the show this year with a new judges' panel that also included Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban alongside veteran Randy Jackson.

But while Minaj has attracted some buzz, not all of it has been good, and the show's hopes for a lively rivalry between Carey and Minaj - like in the old days with Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul - have not come to ratings fruition.

Lopez and fellow host Steven Tyler led the show to a ratings resurgence in their first year as judges, but their second season also saw a steep decline. They both left after that second season.

The Hollywood Reporter, echoing rumors that have been circulating for some time, also quotes unnamed sources at the show as saying the judging panel could be completely overhauled again for next season.


So Mariah threatened to sue if they fired her mid-season?





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