COWELL PLANNING WORLD TALENT CONTEST

Simon Cowell is planning to turn his “[Country’s] Got Talent franchise into a kind of international talent Olympics by pitting the winners and runners-up in the 36 countries where it is broadcast against one another and broadcasting the series to the entire world. The winner would received £1 million (about $1.4 million). The London Sun said that Britain’s ITV and America’s NBC have already agreed to carry the telecast. However, the newspaper observed that Cowell was unhappy with the international World Idol contest that aired in 2003. Cowell later remarked, “I didn’t see the point. You’re making ten winners losers.” At Britain’s TV BAFTA awards on Sunday, Cowell received a special award for outstanding contribution and development of new talent. During the awards ceremony, Julie Walters, best known for her role as Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, made a plea for the funding of dramatic programming on British TV as she picked up her best actress award. “Important drama touches people,” she said. “I’m not saying it changes the world, but seeds are planted. It’s really important and, yes, the money should be made available.”