American Idol 2016. In May 2017, ABC acquired the rights to the series and the program would return for the 2017–18 television season. The show had originally planned on having four judges following the "Pop Idol" format; however, only three judges had been found by the time of the audition round in the first season, namely Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. A fourth judge, radio DJ Stryker, was originally chosen but he dropped out citing "image concerns". In the second season, New York radio personality Angie Martinez had been hired as a fourth judge but withdrew only after a few
American Idol sponsorship deals and other income. One estimate puts the total TV revenue for the first eight seasons of American at $6.4 billion. Sponsors that bought fully integrated packages can expect a variety of promotions of their products on the show, such as product placement, adverts and product promotion integrated into the show, and various promotional opportunities. Other off-air promotional partners pay for the rights to feature "Idol" branding on their packaging, products and marketing programs. "American Idol" also partnered with Disney in its theme park attraction The American Idol Experience. "American Idol" became the most expensive series on broadcast networks