Fox's singing contest, American Idol, has opened up its voting to Facebook users starting Tuesday, the show announced on -- what else? -- its Facebook page.
"We have been wanting to do online voting for several years, and now Facebook has offered us a secure solution and we are ready to go,” Simon Fuller, creator and executive producer of American Idol, said in a statement. “The show has always involved a high level of engagement with its viewers through texting and phone voting, and it’s great to expand on this tradition.”
Previously, viewers could vote via phone or text, but with added online voting, show producers hope more people will vote.
Facebook users will have to log onto AmericanIdol.com and after using their Facebook login "choose their favorite contestant, compete the security verification and submit their choice," according to its press release.
Only those with a registered Facebook account in the United States, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands are eligible to vote. Each Facebook use can vote up to 50 times online.
It's a wise choice for producers who want more people to vote, including a cross-section of the American population. As reported earlier, Facebook has about 132.5 million American users -- more than half of all people in the country who have Internet access.
