Around the time American Idol finishes tonight, Seattle TV fan site BuddyTV will launch a major upgrade of its site.

The company's adding a fantasy league for reality TV fans, similar to sports fantasy leagues, except you pick a roster of reality show contestants. Leagues can be public or you can set up a private league with friends, all free on the ad-supported site.

BuddyTV is offering leagues for American Idol, Survivor, The Amazing Race, America's Next Top Model, Hell's Kitchen, Rock of Love, Make Me a Supermodel and Dancing with the Stars.

BuddyTV isn't the first to offer a reality show fantasy league but co-founder and chief executive, Andy Liu, thinks its big audience - 6 million visitors viewing 90 million pages a month - will give it an edge.

"There's nobody that's really dominant,'' he said. "Because we have such a large community we think we can come out of the gate with a pretty strong offering."

Fantasy leagues should make the site stickier, drawing fans back to check on standings before and after shows and to research their picks, Liu said.

A few screenshots:

The 20-person company started in October 2005 and has about $9 million in funding. Liu said it could be profitable immediately if it shifted from investment mode.

"Ad rates have fallen a bit but it's still holding fairly steady because we've been growing - people are spending more time at home,'' he said.