In August 2005, ABC announced that Dick Clark would return to "New Year's Rockin' Eve" for its 2006 edition, marking his first television appearance since the stroke. For that broadcast, it was also announced Clark would be joined by a new co-host, media personality and "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest. Seacrest had previously hosted Fox's competing "New Year's Eve Live"—which, ironically, would be hosted by Philbin that year. Speaking to "USA Today", Seacrest reminisced on having watched "New Year's Rockin' Eve" in his childhood, stating that "I knew when I was on other shows, I knew we weren't going to beat Dick Clark. He is New Year's Eve." As a part of a long-term deal with Dick Clark Productions, Seacrest also became an executive producer for the special. In an interview with "People Magazine" in December 2005, Seacrest revealed that while Clark had not completely recovered from the stroke, and that his speech was not exactly like how it was beforehand, Clark had made great progress since the original diagnosis.