FOX, iHeart Cozy Up With ‘The Four’

0

The FOX brand and iHeartMedia have such a close relationship, one might wonder why Fox Broadcasting Company doesn’t just buy the debt-laden audio entertainment giant.


Many of its conservative talk hosts, distributed through iHeart’s Premiere Networks and airing across all iHeart News/Talkers, can regularly be seen on FOX News. Now, FOX is teaming with iHeart for a new music competition series that ties the broadcast TV network to its music stations.

The forthcoming series is titled The Four: Battle For Stardom, and this latest take on finding the next chart-topping act will see iHeart assist in the search for talent “and boost the careers of artists throughout the run of the competition.”

As part of the grand prize, the winner of the series will become a part of iHeartMedia’s “On the Verge” artist development program, which will support the winning talent with airplay across iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide.

What makes The Four: Battle for Stardom stick out from the glut of past and present music competition shows across English-language and Spanish-language television? FOX and iHeart say this show starts where most competitions end: with the four finalists.

Four singers, chosen from auditions by the show, will defend their spots on the stage as they are challenged individually by new singers determined to replace them. If the existing four outperform their challengers, they survive to sing another week, until the end of the season, when the final four face off against each other.

Rob Wade, President of Alternative Entertainment and Specials for FOX, is overseeing the project. “Teaming up with iHeartMedia supercharges our proven ability to launch musical artists into the mainstream, and we can’t wait to get started,” he said.

“At iHeartMedia we pride ourselves on discovering and breaking new talent,” added 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.”

Additional details will be announced soon, including an air date and time.

The series 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.