American Idol aficionados apparently aren't the only ones unhappy with Simon Cowell's new deal with Fox, which will have him leaving the reality series this year to focus on launching a U.S. edition of his British The X Factor reality series for the network in Fall 2011.
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Executives with ITV -- the network that airs The X Factor in the U.K. -- are upset they will no longer be able to air the British edition in the fall since that is when Cowell will be in America working on the new Fox edition, The Mirror newspaper reported Wednesday.
"We feel like the bride who's been left at the altar," an ITV source told The Mirror.
Cowell created The X Factor and has served as a judge on the series since it premiered in September 2004 and his new Fox deal may have repercussions on ITV's entire programming schedule, according to The Mirror, which also reported that Cowell has yet to formally signed his new two-year, 10 million pound contract to remain with the British edition.
Beginning in 2011, ITV will now reportedly have to air The X Factor during the first half of the year -- resulting in a scheduling cascade that will also change the network's scheduling of Dancing on Ice and Britain's Got Talent -- the later of which Cowell also judges and would therefore also be blocked by Fox's The X Factor edition.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio