American Idol

American Idol isn't about to lose two judges in a week.

With Paula Abdul now out of the mix, the show is set to lock up Simon Cowell to a new three-year deal; his current contract expires after 2010.

While Fox won't comment just yet, the head of CKX, the parent company of 19 Entertainment, said the network is "in their negotiations with Cowell.

[Fox has] asked us to pre-approve him not only for American Idol '09, which has begun taping, but they have also asked us for approval for '10 and '11, indicating to us that they're finishing their negotiation with Cowell. We did grant approval for that quite obviously."

The rumored deal would be worth $45 million over three years.