American Song Contest goes to Europe after Sweden raises rights | News
American Song Contest, the American adaptation of the 65-year-old Eurovision Song Contest format, is on its way back to Europe after being acquired by SVT.
SVT will broadcast the premiere of the American Song Contest on its streamer SVT Play two days after the US broadcast on NBC on March 23. The show will then end over the next eight weeks on Saturday afternoons on SVT1.
Other international television companies that will acquire the American Song Contest include YLE in Finland, RUV in Iceland, RTS in Serbia and ERT in Greece.
The show has 50 US states plus various US overseas territories competing with new songs for the title of Best Original Song and has 56 artists including international names such as Michael Bolton, Macy Gray, Jewel and Sisqo. The hosts are Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg.
The American Song Contest was announced in 2019 when the Swedish-based subsidiary Brain Academy to Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) acquired the format rights from the European Broadcasting Union.
The team behind the show includes Brain Academy CEO and creative director Peter Settman and head of TV format development Anders Lenhoff. They will work together with Christer Björkman and Ola Melzig, who have worked together on more than 20 Eurovision Song Contests. Medvd for LA-based Propagate Content, Ben Silverman, is also on board, after trying to bring the Eurovision format to the US for many years.
“After first developing, implementing and refining the Melodifestivalen for 20 years in Sweden and at the same time working with the Eurovision Song Contest five times and then – as icing on the cake – we get the opportunity to include the format and adapt it to make American TV audiences feel fantastic fun “, said Björkman.