Simon Cowell bids for global empire ‘bigger than Disney’

Sources close to the two men, who are firm friends, say their plans will see them own all the rights and content of the hit Cowell shows Britain's Got Talent, X Factor and American Idol.

Sir Philip's move with Cowell, which surprised the City, will see him take on the Hollywood moguls and US entertainment corporations in their own backyard. It will establish Sir Philip, who is Britain's ninth richest person with a fortune estimated at more than £4 billion, as a global figure, straddling retail and showbusiness.

Fine details of their joint project are being ironed out but someone familiar with their plans said they are discussing launching X Factor in the US.

After that, new Cowell-inspired and led formats will be worked on and they will target other countries across the world. "They are talking about making profits running into billions as opposed to millions from their joint venture," said someone who knows them both.

At present, X Factor and Talent sell to 30 countries. They see scope for selling to far more and for rolling out new programme strands. Currently, profits from X Factor, Talent and American Idol go to either Simon Fuller's 19 company or Sony. Cowell's existing production organisation, Syco, sold them the rights a few years ago.

This has meant that while the shows have got bigger, Cowell owns none of them. "He doesn't have any shares in them, he has nothing of the content," said one of his friends. "They are all owned by Sony or 19. All his contracts are up for renewal next year and he's decided he wants to develop his own content — he will be on-stage as a panellist, he will be the producer and he will also be the developer, right across the world."

In the US, America's Got Talent and American Idol have taken the television schedules by storm. On its debut, America's Got Talent went straight to the top of the ratings. American Idol is already the most successful format in US TV history for the Fox network.

What is not widely realised, said Cowell's friend, is that he does far more than sit in judgment on the various acts. "He's a genius behind the camera as well as in front of it. He edits the programmes himself, often staying up half the night to get them absolutely right, sitting in the editing suite himself. There's no detail behind the scenes that he is not across."

But while that obsessive quest for TV perfection has paid dividends in terms of the shows' popularity and broad appeal — and have seen Cowell receive a handsome salary — he feels they have not brought him the riches to which he is entitled. The business side of the operation will be handled by Sir Philip. Until now, he has steered clear of diversifying away from retail. However, the opportunity to side with Cowell has proved too difficult to resist.

Sir Philip will ensure the programmes have lots of merchandising and that no area of profitability is left untouched. "They're thinking in terms of a new Disney," said the source close to them both. "What they're planning is that big." Sources close to the men, who regularly see each other on holiday at the Sandy Lane resort in Barbados, say they can barely conceal their excitement at the plans. But Sir Philip has no intention of giving up his "day job" of running his high street empire.