Cowell the billionaire: New deal will see X Factor head to U.S - and Simon join rich superleague
1/16/2010 11:52:00 AM
kenmouse
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Simon Cowell is on the verge of signing a ‘billion dollar’ deal with Sony BMG that will see him reclaim the rights to the X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.The 50-year-old star is at the end of his five-year, £10-million-a-year deal with Sony, but is next week expected to announce a new deal that will dwarf the expired contract.
As part of the deal, Cowell is in talks to win back control of his hit ITV talent shows that have been sold around the world, after initially selling the rights to Sony in 2005.
It would also see his company, Syco – which comes under the Sony banner – standing alone and taking ownership of his hit formats. This would see him make millions more from selling the shows abroad – as well as the winning contestants.
Cowell was last year estimated to have a fortune of £120 million in the Sunday Times Rich List, but a source said: ‘This will make Cowell a dollar billionaire. It will send him into the rich superleague.’
The news comes just days after Cowell quit American Idol – the show which made him a star in the States - and announced plans to launch the X Factor in the US in 2011.
This came despite him reputedly being offered a $100m (£60m) deal by Fox TV bosses to stick with the show and scrap plans to launch the X Factor in the US. Cowell himself merely said the offer had been ‘a lot'.
Yesterday, he confirmed that X Factor judge Cheryl Cole was a favourite to join him on the US version, alongside his former Idol co-star Paula Abdul, saying: ‘I think she would be great over here - Cheryl's a star.’
Cowell, who is also in talks to re-sign his ITV deal which ended last month, launched his company Syco in 2002 and it runs under the Sony music banner – continuing his 20-year association with Sony.
As well as this, the winning acts from Cowell’s hit shows, including Leona Lewis and Susan Boyle, are signed to Syco. In total, X Factor winners from more than 30 countries are signed to the label.
Syco is responsible for co- producing the X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent and, as of 2008, it was reported that the company accounted for 70 per cent of Sony’s UK profits.
Last night, insiders told the Daily Mail that ‘negotiations’ are close to completion.
A source close to the talks stressed that Syco would not be disassociating itself with Sony, but revealed: ‘Negotiations are in their final stages. It will only be a couple of weeks - if that - when it happens, the deal will be huge.’
While a TV insider revealed how the lion’s share of the cash will come from the TV formats, which are for more profitable, rather than the record deals.
The TV insider continued: ‘The big money is in the TV formats as well as the record deals but Simon is the key to it all.'
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