American Song Contest heads to Europe after Sweden bags rights

American Song Contest hosts Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson

American Song Contest, the US adaptation of the 65-year-old Eurovision Song Contest format, is heading back to Europe after being acquired by Swedish broadcaster SVT.

SVT will broadcast the premiere of American Song Contest on its streamer SVT Play two days after the US broadcast on NBC on March 23. The show will then unspool over the following eight weeks on Saturday afternoons on SVT1.

Other international broadcasters to acquire 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 features 56 artists including international names such as Michael Bolton, Macy Gray, Jewel and Sisqo. The hosts are Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg.

American Song Contest was announced in 2019 when Sweden-based Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) subsidiary Brain Academy 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 alongside Christer Björkman and Ola Melzig, who between them have worked on more than 20 Eurovision Song Contests. Co-CEO of LA-based Propagate Content, Ben Silverman, is also onboard, having been trying to get the Eurovision format into 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 adjust it for the American TV audience feels fantastic fun,” said Björkman.