Ryan Seacrest says he knows why American Idol took a ratings hit this season.

It's the fault of the show's most visible presence: Simon Cowell.

When asked about the decline, reports Canada’s Globe and Mail, Seacrest replied, “Well, the knee-jerk reaction would be Simon.”

Seacrest says there’s just too much of the acid-tongued judge: “Clearly there’s an over saturation of his character.”

The host then pointed out that the ratings are still high, and addressed buzz that bosses want to change some of the judges (such as replacing Randy and Paula with Britney Spears).

“That’s clearly rumor,” he said. “I’m positive you can’t recreate the chemistry that we have with the group on American Idol."

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.