• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, December 1, 2005

Every network goes through it with its successful shows: actors want a bigger cut. Perhaps TV advertising should get into the same thinking pattern.

On the biggest show on network TV these days, Fox's "American Idol," the biggest star on that show, Simon Cowell, was just doing what the cast of "Friends" "Seinfeld, " and "Everybody Loves Raymond" has done: demand a bigger contract.

In Cowell's case it was a slightly different consideration. He wanted to be able to sign up the talent he was judging to big recording deals. Fox still has an agreement with Sony BMG USA, for that group's RCA Records brand.

No financial details were released, but according to The New York Times, "it is expected that Mr. Cowell will now be among the highest paid performers in American television."

Of course the interesting thing here is that Cowell isn't performing on a real stage like promising singing talent. He is performing with his cutting remarks, making a nice foil for home viewers looking for a nasty villain to hiss.

But Cowell's negotiations were different. They concerned another talent show that he already owns and airs in the U.K., "X Factor." Other TV talent should learn a lesson here-- start making your own shows when you get into a position of leverage.

"Idol" co-creator Simon Fuller claimed some of the "X Factor" ideas were taken from "Idol" and that he should get a piece of the show. Fuller then sued. Now an agreement has Fuller, Cowell and CKX Entertainment, the new owner of "Idol" producer 19 Entertainment, a Fuller-owned company, each getting a piece of "X Factor."

Cowell gets to have SonyBMG keep the music rights for "Idol" singers--which is what he was pursuing, he says.

National TV advertisers who buy into "Idol," however, don't get a cut in all of this. They just end up paying much more for the top show in the land--now close to $600,000 for a thirty-second commercial.

No wonder advertisers are looking for other ways to get out their messaging. Advertisers complain they continually spend more money for the biggest rated TV shows, but also for more standard-rated shows which lose ratings.

Perhaps advertisers should hold out as well for a bigger cut.