CKX bits and pieces

TODAY’S READING ASSIGNMENT: Illuminating breakdown of the assets that comprise American Idol co-owner CKX, which is on the block, in the L.A. Times’ Company Town. “The challenge for any buyer in determining the value of CKX and Idol is untangling the complex web of relationships among the various parties with a stake in the franchise”—that would be CKX, 19 Entertainment, the Fox network, Fremantle Media and Sony Music—reporter Joe Flint points out. Fox pays three license fees and multiple sets of bonuses for the rights to broadcast the show, which may have exceeded $100m last season—but the network took in $800m in ad revenue. CKX and Fremantle are equal partners in the U.S. version of Idol, while CKX owns two-thirds of the Idol "brand," which includes licensing, merch and touring revenue. As lucrative as it all sounds, a red flag for buyers is Fox's most-favored-nation deal for the show. CKX is prevented from shopping Idol to a rival network willing to pay a higher license fee for the show, unless Fox decides it no longer wants the show—which would mean it’s over. One plus to Simon Cowell's leaving, Flint notes, is that Fox's cost for the show will drop, since he was pulling down about $35m a season. (7/6a)