Simon Cowell commits to ITV for 3 more years

19th Oct 2010 11:56

Fans of X Factor and Britain's Got Talent will be pleased to hear that ITV has struck a deal with Simon Cowell to keep airing the shows for another three years.The contract is said to be worth about £100m and will be split between Cowell's company Syco and co-producers Talkback Thames. It had been thought X Factor would take a break from UK screens in 2011 as Cowell is launching a version of the show in America.The judge is "thrilled" at the new deal and is "committed to making sure both shows get bigger and better every year".Talk is Cowell won't be part of the Britain's Got Talent judging panel until after the audition rounds. The news series is due to be broadcast next spring.But he may jet back and forth between the UK and Los Angeles for the X Factor competition which will run at the same time as the US version.ITV's director of television, Peter Fincham, called the shows a "national obsession", with this year's X Factor pulling in a record number of viewers.