Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 10/02/2012 at 4:16 PM News

Well, if there’s two things that Simon Cowell and the powers that be behind X Factor have conclusively proven they’re not afraid of doing in the process of trying to better their product, it’s going after big names and spending big money. This trend, which already landed them Britney Spears and Demi Lovato as their latest celebrity judges, now takes them to a couple of celebrity hosts, to replace the departed and decidedly unfamous (this side of the Atlantic anyway) Steve Jones.

TMZ reports that the show will take on a couple of names imminently familiar to fans of celebrity and entertainment gossip—Extra anchor Mario Lopez and Khloe & Lamar star Khloe Kardashian. (The two will start on the show sometime in November.) The news had been rumored some weeks earlier, but is now being reported as good-as-done, pending some final contract touches.

Considering that Ryan Seacrest—arguably the most successful reality TV show host in history—is also a part of that world, this might be considered a move designed to double down on the Idol formula, a decision with tremendous potential for headline-grabbing at the very least. We’re in favor of the move, personally. If you’re going to build an overpriced super-team for your reality show, you may as well go the whole nine with it—that way, even if it’s a failure, it’ll always be fascinating. Just look at the Los Angeles Dodgers.