 |
       |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
Singing Bee creates new buzz at CMT US entertainment format The Singing Bee, which notched up more than two dozen international sales following a disappointing first run on NBC, will return to US screens this summer on a cable network. MTV Networks-owned Country Music Television (CMT) has nabbed rights to the format and to its original production companies: creator Phil Gurin's The Gurin Company and Juma Entertainment. New episodes will kick off on Saturday June 20 at 20.00, following the second-season premiere of CMT's popular singing competition Can You Duet. The Singing Bee's basic structure will remain intact, but the range of musical genres tackled by contestants has been tweaked to around 60% country music, and the house dancers have been dropped. CMT is also developing an original segment, details of which are under wraps. Bob Kusbit, head of development at CMT, said he and his team had been "fans of this show since it first premiered on NBC." The Singing Bee, which combines spelling bee-style testing of song lyrics with a karaoke competition, ran for one, interrupted, season on NBC in 2007 and was officially cancelled following its departure from the terrestrial's schedule at last year's Infront presentation. It has, however, enjoyed sales success as an international format. Digital Rights Group-owned UK distributor Zeal Entertainment owns ex-US format rights to the show and has sold it to territories including Chile, Finland, Spain, Australia and Turkey. "The Singing Bee has come full circle after travelling around the world and becoming an international phenomenon," said Bob Horowitz, who as executive producer on the NBC series will travel with the show to CMT. "CMT's audience and success with reality programming make it the ideal new home for the show." Emily Brookes 19 May 2009 © C21 Media 2009 
C21 Home | Formats Lab Home | Printer Friendly | Email a Friend |
|
|
|
|
|
|
