‘American Idol’ could be resurrected on NBC: Report

“American Idol” could soon be dusted off and given a new home at the NBC network, Variety reported Thursday.

“According to sources with knowledge of the discussions, NBC has been pitched a revival of the long-running singing competition by producer Fremantle and is now mulling options for how to integrate the show into its programming slate,” Variety reported. 

Both FremantleMedia and NBC declined to provide Variety with comment. 

“American Idol” ran on the Fox television network for 15 seasons from 2002 to 2016. 

While some critics have forecast that the phenomenon of major-network talent shows is ending — eclipsed by the democratizing influence of YouTube-borne celebrity — at least one “American Idol” alumnus strongly disagrees.

“I personally thought there would be far more breakout artists a year coming from YouTube after Justin (Bieber),” Simon Cowell told the New York Daily News last July. “Maybe about 20 a year when he came along. And actually that’s not the case, so there’s a huge argument to keep these kinds of shows going.”

“I think there’s still an appetite for these shows and I think they can last much longer than we initially thought,” the longtime music producer told the Daily News.

“I still feel in my heart that there is room for another music show in this country — hand on my heart I do,” Mr. Cowell added.