New Executive Producer Named for ‘American Idol’

One of the makers of “American Idol,” FremantleMedia North America, announced a new executive producer on Monday, following reports that two longtime producers of the singing competition had been dismissed.

The new producer, Per Blankens, spent five years at the helm of the Swedish version of “Idol.” He will be among the people charged with reviving the American version on Fox, which has suffered in the ratings, as shows as old as “Idol” tend to do. The 13th season is scheduled to debut in January.

Trish Kinane, a FremantleMedia executive, said she was “very excited about his ideas and vision for keeping ‘Idol’ creatively vibrant.”

“Idol” is produced for Fox by FremantleMedia and another company, 19 Entertainment. 19 is also expected to hire a new executive producer for the show.

Over the weekend, Fox confirmed that Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick would not remain in their executive producer roles on “Idol.” Mr. Lythgoe, who will keep producing “So You Think You Can Dance” for the network, said on Twitter that he’d been fired. He followed up on Monday with a statement that read in part, “I am truly saddened to be leaving a great team of friends and colleagues. However, at the end of the day, the most important thing is to maintain this incredible platform for America’s young talent. This will only happen with the success of the program. If the executives that are now in charge of ‘American Idol’ believe that the ratings will improve with my departure, I have no complaints.”