Fox raises age limit for ‘American Idol’

Buoyed by 31 Emmy nominations Thursday, including one for its ratings juggernaut “American Idol,” Fox’s president of entertainment, Gail Berman, announced that the next batch of contestants for the talent show can be up to 28, three years older than in past seasons.

The series will begin holding auditions Aug. 4 for aspiring pop stars between ages 16 and 28, Berman said. Producers will scout new cities too, including Cleveland and Anchorage. The fourth season will begin airing in January.

“We saw so many people with extraordinary amounts of talent, and it was a shame that we could not include them in the show” because of the age rules, Berman told a gathering of television critics in Century City. “But we also like the idea of having younger people participating. The younger part of our audience certainly seems to respond to that.”

Berman also said she foresaw no changes to the phone-in voting, which stirred controversy this year when viewers complained their calls didn’t get through. The show’s executive producer, Simon Fuller, has said he might add Internet voting.

And despite generally low ratings this summer, Berman expressed faith in Fox’s new year-round schedule. Three of the shows launched this summer -- “Quintuplets,” “North Shore” and “Method & Red” -- will return Sept. 6, after a brief hiatus during the Olympics on NBC. “The Jury” and “The Casino” will end their runs in August and will not be renewed.