Fox said Monday it will air at least three 'American Idol' hours on Thursdays in February and March.
When it comes to the monster that is "American Idol," Fox has a message for its rivals: You can run, but you can't hide.
Net said Monday that it will air at least three hourlong episodes of "Idol" on Thursday at 8 p.m. Segs will run the last week of February and the first two weeks of March.
Move will displace "The OC" for three weeks. It's not yet clear what Fox plans to air Thursdays at 9 p.m. in conjunction with "Idol."
Announcement comes in the wake of other nets, particularly NBC, holding off on some midseason changes until they were certain Fox wasn't going to move "Idol" to Thursday nights. Peacock, for one, wanted to make sure its new two-hour Thursday comedy block wouldn't have to face the Fox juggernaut on a weekly basis.
Still, even after Fox said it would keep "Idol" on Tuesdays and Wednesday, rivals had a feeling the net would find a way to play the Thursday "Idol" card. Fox has always expanded its megahit to a thrice-weekly air pattern for at least a couple weeks each season.
In past years, the "bonus" episodes of "Idol" generally ran on Mondays. By airing "Idol" on Thursdays, Fox might be able to blunt any momentum achieved by NBC's new laffer lineup, ABC's second season of "Dancing With the Stars" or CBS' "Survivor," which will be just a few weeks into its new season when "Idol" makes its Thursday attack.
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