According to industry reports, ABC News' Primetime Live program is working on a "potentially explosive expose" about Fox's smash hit American Idol phenomenon.
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Daily Variety reported Thursday that while Primetime Live's staff is still in the process of preparing the story and confirming its facts, it is believed that the report has been in the works for "several months." While the exact details of the report are still being determined, the trade paper reports that the Primetime Live report will "take a hard look at the relationship between Idol judges and contestants."
According to Variety, the network is considering airing the report as a special single-topic Primetime Live broadcast during the upcoming May ratings sweeps period. Given that Primetime Live also normally airs during the extremely competitive Thursday 10PM time period, the network is also said to be considering airing the broadcast in another less competitive timeslot, with a Wednesday 10PM time period among the alternatives under consideration.
An ABC News spokesperson refused to comment to Variety, however according to the trade paper, insiders have confirmed that ABC News staffers have contacted both Fox and American Idol's producers during the course of their research. The network has reportedly not asked either Fox or Idol's producers to respond to any allegations and instead only stated that they are working on a story about the show -- something they've done in past seasons via flattering segments about previous Idol contestants.