FOX TO USE FOCUS GROPUS- TO DETERMINE IF PAULA ABDUL IS WORTH THE MONEY.


“Fox loooves focus groups,” a well-placed TV executive told
RadarOnline. “If Paula consistently scores far higher than any other
person in her chair, they will feel compelled to make her an offer she
can’t refuse and make this deal happen.”


PressFocus groups are going to help the folks at Fox determine
just how much money they need to offer Paula Abdul to bring her back
to American Idol, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.


The TV executives want to know how audiences respond to any new judge
other than Paula. “They know no one can replace Paula,” a source
said. The testing will help them see just how damaging it might be
not to have Abdul back and figure out just what their new financial
offer should be.


Paula will not be seen in any of the early audition shows; that much
is certain. The fourth judge for those outings will be the likes of
Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige and Shania Twain. Although none of
these guest judges is being considered as Paula’s replacement, video
of them on the job will be used for comparison purposes with the focus
groups.


Those who know Paula the best believe she wants to make it happen
too. One of her closest associates told RadarOnline.com that Paula
was “bored” after eight seasons as well as feeling under-appreciated
by the show’s producers and executives at Fox.


Paula has always believed that she was the most important personality
in the cast with more fan appeal than Simon Cowell or Ryan Seacrest.
She could not believe they were handed such huge deals and she was
not.


She also often told friends that she did not believe American Idol
could survive without her, another insider told RadarOnline.com.


“It’s not that she doesn’t have other things going on, she does,” the
friend said. “But it is so much easier to go back to Idol and use that
as a platform to promote all her other ventures. Everyone who knows
her believes she will be back.” All parties are back in talks – if
not exactly formal negotiations -- about exactly how to make what
seems to be the inevitable happen.


The show’s producers had wanted four judges from the very beginning of
American Idol, RadarOnline.com has also learned. There are four at
every other Idol around the world – from Japan to Australia to would-
you-believe Afghanistan.


“There will be four judges at American Idol come January,” a well-
placed source said. “And that fourth judge will be Paula Abdul.”