"Idol" duo exits Emmy telecast

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The executive producers of "American Idol" will no longer run the Primetime Emmy Awards, saying they are too busy to do the job.

The 59th annual edition of the awards show will now be executive produced by Ken Ehrlich, the awards show veteran who has produced 27 Grammy telecasts and three Emmy shows, among others. Fox will air the broadcast on September 16.

When their appointment was announced in February, there were high hopes that Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick would jazz up the telecast, whose ratings hit their second-lowest level in 16 years last year. Warwick promised to produce "the best Emmys to date."

In a joint statement issued Friday, they explained their decision to step down.

"After we wrapped the enormous effort of 'Idol Gives Back,' we looked at our upcoming slate of projects, including the 'American Idol' finale and the additional shows we will be involved in this summer, and realized that we could not devote the creative energy and time necessary to make the Emmys outstanding for the academy and Fox," they said.

Last year's event, which aired on NBC, drew 16.2 million viewers, down about 13 percent from the previous year. The previous low was 13.8 million in 2004; before that, it was 12.3 million in 1990, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Emmy nominations will be announced July 19. The awards telecast is set to air live (with a tape delay in the Pacific time zone) from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter