With its one-time hit American Idol moving to ABC, Fox is teaming up with radio company iHeartMedia on a new music competition show.
The Four: Battle for Stardom is scheduled to launch next year. The competition will start with four finalists. As part of the grand prize, the winner will be part of iHeartMedia’s “On the Verge” artist development program and get airplay on the company’s radio stations.
The show will be supported by a promo campaign that will align the Fox broadcast network with iHeartMedia’s 850 live radio stations and its digital music, podcasting, live streaming, 122 million social media follower and live events.
The Four will also take advantage of Smart A/V Audiences, Fox and iHeartMedia’s suite of data-driven ad products incorporating audio and video units.
“With our deep history of shaping pop music culture – from Glee, which defied the odds to make musical series cool; to the multi-hit-producing Empire; to Grease: Live, which reinvented the live musical for today’s audiences; and American Idol, the original star-maker – Fox is uniquely credentialed to bring viewers The Four: Battle for Stardom,” said Rob Wade, President, Alternative Entertainment and Specials, Fox Broadcasting Company. “Teaming up with iHeartMedia supercharges our proven ability to launch musical artists into the mainstream, and we can’t wait to get started.”
The format of The Four involves starting with four finalists who are challenged weekly by new singers trying to replace them on the show. A panel of judges decides who stays on the show and ultimately who wins the grand prize.
“At iHeartMedia we pride ourselves on discovering and breaking new talent,” said John Sykes, iHeartMedia’s President of Entertainment Enterprises. “Our ‘On the Verge’ initiative has helped launch the careers of artists like Sam Smith, Fifth Harmony, Nick Jonas and many others. We are excited to collaborate with Fox to find the next new artist who will receive this rare opportunity.”
The Four: Battle for Stardom was created by Armoza Formats and is produced by ITV Entertainment in association with Armoza Formats. Becca Walker, David Friedman, David George, Adam Sher, David Eilenberg, Moshiko Cohen, Elwin Vizetelly de Groot and Nehama Cohen are executive producers.
