M-Net has just officially confirmed what TV with Thinus readers would have known for months now: That the broadcaster tried to get, and has just secured the broadcasting rights to the new American version of Simon Cowell's reality show, The X Factor US. It will start on M-Net in early October after its September debut in America.
ALSO READ: November 2010: M-Net confirms its trying to get The X Factor for M-Net in 2011.
ALSO READ: February 2011: A local South African version of The X Factor on M-Net ''a very strong possibility''.
ALSO READ: July 2011: M-Net definitely planning on showing The X Factor US shortly after it starts in America; doing MasterChef South Africa since The X Factor SA format rights too expensive for now.
Simon Cowell that left American Idol is back on television from September in America and he's producing and will be a judge in an American version of Britain's extremely popular reality show. M-Net has finally acquired the rights and will have The X Factor US on the schedule from early October. Last month Simon Cowell that he believes that The X Factor will be bigger than American Idol in the ratings – currently America's most watched TV show. He's reteamed with his slightly cooky former American Idol judge Paula Abdul who's also a judge on The X Factor US.
''The X Factor US will be joining the list of M-Net super-weight titles on the magic mantle,'' M-Net confirms in a press release. ''Bringing The X Factor US to M-Net viewers once again proves that the channel has become the home of blockbuster reality shows,'' says Pierre Cloete, M-Net and M-Net HD channel head in the statement. ''Following the success of American Idol we can't wait to see the entertainment that The X Factor US has in store.''
''The X Factor US is an exclusive for M-Net in South Africa,'' says Tracey Gilchrist, head of acquisitions at M-Net. ''The X Factor US will follow a similar broadcast pattern to the American broadcasting dates, reducing the turnaround time between programming in America and here in South Africa.''