NZ idols in the making

By REBECCA BARRY

Plans are underway to find New Zealand's answer to American Idol.

BMG Records confirmed it would be releasing albums by the winners of New Zealand Idol, a televised talent quest in which thousands of hopefuls compete for stardom and a lucrative record deal.

But the company would not disclose the show's producers and said TVNZ would be making an announcement about the series.

The broadcaster, however, said it knew nothing about it.

American Idol topped the ratings in the United States, drawing 20 million viewers to each episode; 33.7 million watched the second series' two-hour ending.

In New Zealand the finale attracted 684,000 viewers, putting it on a par with Coronation Street.

The winner of the last series, Ruben Studdard, and runner-up Clay Aiken, went on to sign deals with BMG Records, and boasted the top-selling singles in the US Top 50 chart.

Aiken's single sold nearly 400,000 copies in its first week.

A 90-minute special of Australian Idol, produced by Fremantle Media and Grundy Productions, will screen tonight (TV2, 7 .30).

The sudden acquisition of the programme means Extreme Makeover will be pushed back half-an-hour to 9pm.

TVNZ said it wanted to screen the show as soon as possible to "keep viewers happy".

"We have been in negotiations for a long time but a deal was struck only recently," a spokeswoman said.

"We wanted it to go to air the same week it did in Australia and to be able to show the final live."