| Christopher Harnick 16. Dezember 2014 – 08:44
The hits keep coming for American Idol, and we don’t mean the musical hits. You won’t see those giant Coke cups when the reality show returns for its fourteenth season this January. Coca-Cola has cut ties with the aging series. Coke has been a sponsor of the show since it began in 2001.
“I can confirm that Coca-Cola and Fox have mutually decided to end our 13-year American Idol partnership,” a rep for Coca-Cola told E! News. “After 13 years, we feel it is the right time for the Coca-Cola brand to venture into new spaces and pursue other opportunities to connect with teens and leverage music as a passion point.”
Variety first reported the news.
CLICK: American Idol is getting cut down
AT&T, another longtime sponsor of American Idol, bowed out from the program in the most recent season. Ford will continue with the series, so those road trips and sing-alongs aren’t going anywhere.
News of Coca-Cola’s exit comes after host Ryan Seacrest spilled the beans that Fox plans to cut American Idol down to one night a week, combining the performance and the results show. ABC’s Dancing With the Stars recently did that as well.
Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. are returning as judges. This will be Connick Jr.’s second year, Urban’s third and Lopez’s fourth. Randy Jackson, who served as judge from seasons 1-12 and as mentor during season 13 will not return in that role for season 14. However, the door is open for him to return in some capacity at some point during the upcoming season.
MORE: Randy Jackson exits American Idol
Ratings for the long-running reality series have eroded over the last few seasons with the season 13 finale bringing in 10.5 million viewers. At its height, American Idol‘s finales reached audiences of more than 38 million viewers.
American Idol‘s two-night premiere kicks off on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. and continues Thursday, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. on Fox.
American Idol: Where are they now?
