Ford, Coca-Cola, AT&T Return as 'American Idol' Sponsors

Car and beverage maker's 11th, wireless provider's 10th year as sponsors

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/18/2012 3:38:40 PM

Fox Broadcasting, FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment announced on Wednesday that Ford, Coca-Cola and AT&T would all be returning as sponsors for the 11th season of American Idol.

Ford returns to be the official automotive sponsor, and has partnered with the show since its inception in 2002. Along with featuring the Idol finalists in music videos, running on Thursday nights, Ford will continue to promote its vehicles on the show, awarding one to both the runner-up and winner. The carmaker is also launching a new online-promotion, to be announced at a later date.

Coca-Cola is a sponsor for the 11^th year, and will use Idol as the kickoff for its Family Night program during January and February. The beverage maker will also launch the new "Coca-Cola Music Cover Artwork" contest, where fans can develop their own special music cover graphics and win a trip to the live finale. Also, the company is bringing back the Perfect Harmony program that provides teens and young adults the opportunity to write a song with an award winning artist.

AT&T returns for its 10^th year as the official wireless sponsor, giving its customers exclusive unlimited text-voting during the voting windows after the live shows.

The new season of American Idol premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Fox.