America’s Got Talent (often abbreviated as AGT) is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle USA (as well as distributed by) and Syco Entertainment, and broadcasts on the NBC television network. It premiered on June 21, 2006, after plans for a British edition in 2005 were suspended, following a dispute within the British broadcaster ITV. Production would later resume in 2007,[3] following the success of the first season. Each season is mainly run during the network’s summer schedule, and has featured various hosts over the course of the program’s history. The current host is Terry Crews.
The program attracts a variety of participants from across the United States and abroad, who possess some form of talents. Acts range from singing, dancing, comedy, magic, stunts, variety and other genres. Each participant or act who auditions, attempts to secure a place in the live episodes of a season, by impressing a panel of judges. The current line-up consists of Cowell,[4] Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Sofía Vergara. Participants making it into the live episodes, compete against each other for both the judges’ and public’s vote, in order to reach the live final. The winner receives a large cash prize (primarily paid over a period of time), and since the third season, a chance to headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip.
