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"Ryan Seacrest has signed a new deal to stay on as host of American Idol. The network has confirmed that the 37-year-old has signed up to return as host of the Fox reality singing competition.   &amp;gt; Ryan Seacrest: &amp;#039;I can&amp;#039;t imagine life without American Idol&amp;#039; &amp;quot;For the last 11 seasons, I&amp;#039;ve had the privilege to be a part of one of television&amp;#039;s most iconic shows,&amp;quot; Seacrest said in a statement. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s been a wild ride, and I&amp;#039;m excited for my journey with American Idol to continue.  &amp;quot;The legions of fans, amazingly talented contestants, judges, and producers, along with the hard-working Idol crew, impress me every time we go on air and make hosting the show a dream job. I especially appreciate the support and confidence of Peter Rice, Mike Darnell and the entire Fox team - as well as the support of everyone at FremantleMedia North America - and I look forward to continuing our partnership.&amp;quot; Darnell, who is Fox&amp;#039;s president of alternative entertainment, hailed Seacrest&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;ability to engage the viewers, keep the contestants at ease during intense moments and adapt to any situation&amp;quot;, branding him &amp;quot;the best in the business&amp;quot;, while American Idol creator Simon Fuller described him as a &amp;quot;consummate host and an exemplary professional&amp;quot;. According to Variety, Seacrest will earn $15 million (\u00A39.7 million) per season as part of his new contract, which is said to last for two years.  &amp;gt; Ryan Seacrest to take pay cut for &amp;#039;American Idol&amp;#039;? Seacrest recently agreed to cover the London 2012 Olympics as a special correspondent for NBC and will also host Fox&amp;#039;s forthcoming 25th anniversary celebrations. It was reported late last year that he was in contention to replace Matt Lauer on the Today show in the event he chose to stand down as co-anchor.  However, Lauer has since re-affirmed his commitment to the programme by signing a new deal. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/american-idol/news/a378081/ryan-seacrest-signs-new-american-idol-deal/>