Canal+ Group’s version of Nouvelle Star

French broadcaster M6 is set to relaunch its adaptation of the Idol format, Nouvelle Star, seven years after it dropped the FremantleMedia show.

In a teaser aired yesterday, M6 revealed Nouvelle Star’s return and invited people to apply to take part.

The show was a flagship for M6 for almost a decade, having launched in 2003, but was cancelled in 2011 amid declining viewing figures.

The channel intended to give the format a rest and tried its own version of The X Factor instead, and later an adaptation of Keshet’s Rising Star, but neither performed well, leaving the channel without a singing talent show.

Nouvelle Star was subsequently picked up by pay TV operator Canal+ for its free-to-air channel C8, where it pulled in 1.7 million viewers. However, it was cancelled ^[1] last June after ratings dipped to 500,000.

Press reports suggest former France international footballer David Ginola has been tapped as host of the revival, having already been revealed as the presenter of La France A Un Incroyable Talent (Got Talent) for M6, which is also produced by FremantleMedia.

The news follows the revival ^[2] of American Idol by ABC in the US a year after the show was dropped by rival Fox.