Fox to Condense AMERICAN IDOL Into One Night Next Season

AMERICAN IDOL will be cutting back when it returns to FOX next month.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, host Ryan Seacrest confirmed at the Z100 Jingle Ball in New York that the long-running competition show will combine its performance and results show into a single airing for the upcoming season

"We are going to do the performance show and the results in the same show," Seacrest said at Madison Square Garden. "So there won't be a 'wait 'til tomorrow night.' There won't be a 'Coming up, coming up, coming up.' We are going to put it all into one format in one night. So that will be exciting."

The change won't kick in until later on in the season, he confirmed. "[It will be] one night when we get to the final stage, the top ten, there will be one night of performances and results all in one night," he said.

AMERICAN IDOL XIV returns with a special, two-night, three-hour premiere event Wednesday, Jan. 7 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) and Thursday, Jan. 8 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Featuring host Ryan Seacrest and judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr., the fun starts when the competition launches its search for America's next superstar with auditions from Kansas City, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York and San Francisco.

AMERICAN IDOL is produced by FremantleMedia NORTH AMERICA and 19 Entertainment, a division of CORE Media Group. The series was created by Simon Fuller.

Photo Credit: ABC/Bob D'Amico