American Idol

American Idol is a television show featured on the Fox Network in the United States and on CTV in Canada, ITV2 in Great Britain, ABS-CBN in the Philippines, and Ten Network in Australia, based on the popular British show Pop Idol. The show is singing talent contest in which viewers can call in and vote on contestants to determine the best "undiscovered" young singer in the United States, with the winner receiving a major record deal, although many runners-up-- most of the top 12of each season-- have achieved enough fame and popularity to ink record deals of their own. American Idol is produced by Fremantle North America which is owned by German Bertelsmann. Each contestant gets a contract with one of Bertelsmann's many music labels because Bertelsmann owns a 50/50 stake in Sony BMG.