So the controversy continues. I was researching the rules to American Idol in response to a comment I received from someone claiming to be a former employee of Fox TV that suggested there is a disclaimer regarding the voting and selection process at the end of the show in fine print. I could not find the disclaimer but I did find this on Wikipedia:

• American Idol is broadcast to over 100 nations outside of the United States, including many with their own version of Idol; however, it is not a live broadcast and may be tape delayed by several days or weeks (excluding Pakistan, India, Israel, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates in which it is also aired live).
• And this: International networks broadcasting American Idol - In India it airs live on Star World.

Is the Wikipedia info correct? Does AI air live in India? Are all the people cursing me up and down wrong for even suggesting that Indian call centers might be skewing the American Idol vote?

Let me state clearly that upon further thought I believe that this is far fetched, never the less, Sanjaya Malakar is still on the show and more talented singers are gone. Howard Stern, and the vote the worst crowd are having an impact. My original post was followed by Sunday Funnies: American Idol - Indian Idle, sharing some of the comments I received, then American Idol puzzle solved: Market Theory, considering a broader range of factors, and continuing with Amercan Idol or Survivor: It's for real.

From a business perspective, American Idol is probably getting higher ratings with Sanjaya then it would without. Hollywood is not new to controversy and only politics is more corrupt in my view, so who knows the real story? I have been accused of being racist for even suggesting that race is a factor. Well in business, I cannot leave out race or any other considerations that may influence a situation. I am not passing judgment, I am sharing an observation. Can you even discuss racial issues without being a racist in some peoples eyes? Last night Stephanie Edwards, one of the four "black divas" was voted off. She has superior talent to others and I do believe that vote splitting affected her support on the show and that one of the four white males will be in trouble next week for the same reason. This is not racist, but objective analysis of the real world.

Disclosure: I invest in international stocks and one of my favorites is ICICI Bank ADS (NYSE: IBN) one of India's largest private banks.

American Idol broadcast live in India originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Mar 2007 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.