Ryan Seacrest is staying put at “American Idol.” As he hinted during an interview on NBC’s TODAY show this month, Seacrest will remain with the singing competition show he’s hosted since its launch in 2002. He has inked a two-year pact, which will pay him $15 million annually.The news comes as “Idol,” now in its 11th season, has seen its ratings post double-digit declines, down more than 20 percent in total viewers compared with a year earlier. His most recent three-year pact, which included his services on “Idol” as well as other potential projects, paid him $45 million (or $15 million a year). Fox executives were said to be particularly eager to keep Seacrest, who has been dubbed “the glue” that keeps “Idol” together. Show producers and network execs “cannot envision the show without Ryan,” one Idol insider tells THR. “The goal has always been to keep him.”
To be sure, “Idol” is only one piece of the Seacrest’s growing empire. The multihyphenate is close to finalizing a new deal with E! parent NBCUniversal that will include the already-announced role as part of the company’s Olympics team this summer. Despite a report late last year that suggested Seacrest was being courted as a potential Matt Lauer replacement at TODAY, Lauer is remaining in the anchor chair with a rich new deal signed in early April.
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