American Idol and Simon Cowell’s X Factor won’t only be competing for similar talent and viewers, they are also now competing to be the first competition show to have online voting through Facebook. The Hollywood Reporter says Simon is working on a deal with Facebook that would allow them to have an online voting system in place for X Factor’s first season, which premieres this fall. Viewers would have the option of somehow voting on their own Facebook page, possibly through an X Factor application. Facebook voting would be reserved for the final rounds. This is in addition to the phone and text voting, which would still be available. But there’s a chance it won’t happen so Idol would premiere Facebook voting on the following winter, which means they might have a little extra time to swoop in and do the Facebook thing first.
The Hollywood Reporter says, quote, “there are not currently plans for Facebook to be involved with ‘Idol’.” Entertainment Weekly claims Idol is chasing Facebook voting and has been working on a system. In fact, they say Idol plans on making an announcement soon, and will debut Facebook voting soon. Entertainment Weekly says Idol has been working on this for a while now. Viewers will use their Facebook accounts to access a special Idol voting page. Fans will be able to vote 50 times during each voting period.
