Seacrest will tread the red carpet for E!

Ryan Seacrest’s new year is looking good so far. The “American Idol” host and KIIS-FM disc jockey signed a deal with E! Entertainment Television that includes producing and hosting the channel’s red-carpet awards coverage.

Seacrest, who joined Dick Clark for ABC’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” on Saturday and has called Clark a role model, appears to be emulating the veteran producer with the three-year E! contract announced Tuesday.

Seacrest will be executive producer and co-host of E!’s “Live From the Red Carpet,” starting with the Golden Globes on Jan. 16. (Star Jones, who handled red-carpet shows for E! after Joan Rivers and her daughter, Melissa, skipped to the TV Guide Channel, won’t be part of the team, an E! spokeswoman said.)

In March, Seacrest will become managing editor and lead anchor of “E! News,” joining current anchor Giuliana DePandi, E! said. He will produce series for the channel through his Ryan Seacrest Productions and has the option of selling shows to other networks or channels.

Seacrest also will produce and host celebrity interview specials for E! as part of the agreement, which some reports have valued at $21 million. The channel declined to specify the contract’s value.