Some changes are coming to American Idol.
Variety reports that the singing competition series will stream live on Disney+ in addition to ABC for the first time ever, beginning next month.
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American Idol is following in the footsteps of Dancing With the Stars, which also simulcasts live on ABC and Disney+. Those who are unable to watch Idol live will still be able to stream the following day on Hulu and Disney+. The series’ first live stream will be on March 30 on Disney+, and will continue to air on ABC stations in local time zones on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
That’s not all. Disney+ and Hulu will be launching American Idol Official Podcast. It will coincide with the start of the live shows at the end of March. The announcement was made on Tuesday during a panel at Miami’s Realscreen Summit. Along with Disney+ and Hulu, the podcast will be available on other podcasting platforms. Host and other details will be announced later.
Per the American Idol Official Podcast’s logline, “Each week, the podcast will dive deeper into America’s most iconic music competition series, exploring the performances everyone’s talking about, and offering exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes insights, and expert analysis of the judges’ critiques.”
American Idol’s ninth season on ABC, 24th overall, premiered on Jan. 26 and was the most-watched Idol premiere in four years, averaging 8.27 million viewers live+3 and multi-platform viewing. Ryan Seacrest returned as host, alongside returning judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie. Not surprisingly, even though the season just started, it’s already bringing tears, including at the end of the season premiere, with an audition that brought Underwood to tears.
American Idol comes from Fremantle and 19 Entertainment. Executive producers include showrunner Megan Wolflick, as well as Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman for 19 Entertainment. Fremantle distributes the series worldwide. Whether the live stream will be a fixture for American Idol moving forward with future seasons during the live shows is unknown, but it’s possible that if it does well on Disney+, Disney will have no choice but to continue with it, same with the podcast. For now, fans can continue to watch American Idol on ABC on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. The live stream on Disney+ begins on Monday, March 30 at 8 p.m. ET.