Simon Cowell, the biggest reality television celebrity, announced the possibility of wanting to expand his “Got Talent” format into a worldwide television entertainment challenge.
After selling the rights for The X Factor to over 147 territories, Cowell is working on creating a “pan-regional entertainment format”, which will encompass the spirit of the Eurovision Song Contest. “That is something we have been thinking of for more than three years – a long, long time – and I think it is going to get easier, not harder,” said Cowell at the Mipcom TV conference in Cannes.
The concept will be structured for countries to choose their best act (singers, dance troupes or talented pets), which will gradually be eliminated in several stages to consequently reach the Grand Final. The decision on who will pass onto the next round will be made by public vote.
The idea of having a worldwide X Factor was not taken into consideration, because a one-off “World Idol” sing-off in 2003/2004 utterly failed. “The ‘Got Talent’ format would be the most obvious one to start with. We’ll definitely be in that space sooner rather than later”, Cowell said.
The plan is for the new series to run exclusively via a web streaming channel, such as Netflix. Cowell said: “We are going to announce something soon that is going to be a big show, not on a cable network, not on a major network, and I think it is a bit of a game changer because the market has suddenly just got bigger.”
Is Cowell posing a threat to our beloved Eurovision is yet to be seen. Let’s hope not!
My affection for the Contest spans over 35 years, commencing when Daniel represented Yugoslavia in 1983. Since then, I have been tirelessly following the ESC. My initial first-hand experience was Copenhagen 2001 and have been lucky enough to attend the Contest continuously since 2012.
Over the years, Eurovision has grown and changed tremendously but it is still as amazing as ever!
