• by Wayne Friedman , May 11, 2007

It's finally arrived: The "American Idol" spinoff. Sort of.

During Wednesday's "Idol" show, a Fox network promo asked all those rock band wannabes to send their videos to the producer of "Idol" for a new show. Sort of a "Battle of the Bands" for the Fox viewer set.

The show will have a working title of "The Search for the Next Great American Band." But don't look for it to be much like the highest-rated TV show in the land. There'll be no Ryan, Randy, Paula, and absolutely no Simon.

Still, the new series from "Idol" producers, FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment, will look to re-create the "Idol" formula--hoping to lift talented groups from playing dive bars and high school talent shows.

It may not all be that easy. Rock music is more of subset of the broader popular music genre that "Idol" uses. As such, analysts say, that could keep viewership at more moderate levels--not those of the loftier "Idol" numbers.

The most recent example comes from CBS' summer series "Rock Star"--which has helped to find established bands, and newly formed groups from established artists, lead singers. The Mark Burnett-produced "Rock Star" has been a modestly successful effort over the past two seasons with its versions--"Rock Star: INXS" and "Rock Star: Supernova"--typically scoring mid-three ratings among 18-49 viewers.

The final episode of "The Search for the Next Great American Band" will feature the top three bands battling it out for the title and a record contract. It is not known when the show will start.