In 2005, Simon Cowell devised plans for a televised talent competition, originally intending for it be created and broadcast in Britain through the British broadcaster ITV, with an American edition to follow after its first season. However, following a pilot broadcast of the format, a dispute arose between ITV and Paul O'Grady, the originally intended host of "Britain's Got Talent". In the wake of the dispute, after O'Grady decided to sign on to another network, Cowell suspended production on the British edition, and instead focused on the American edition in 2006. His proposal for his program in America was bought by NBC, who commissioned a small season of episodes, with Cowell working alongside Freemantle with his own company Syco Entertainment. Production staff launched open auditions across the United States at this time, while they subsequently searched for and chose those who would front the program in the required roles - while Regis Philbin was picked as the host, the judging panel featured the involvement of David Hasselhoff, Brandy Norwood, and Piers Morgan. After the open auditions had been completed, those who had been nominated for the program were entered into more an extensive round of major auditions, with these being filmed and taking place across three major cities in April 2006 - Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.