AUSTRALIA – SBS has abandoned plans for Eurovision Asia after 5 years of development with producers Blink TV. SBS first announced an Asia-Pacific Eurovision in 2016, licensed by the European Broadcasting Union, to be held in 2017 in Australia with 20 countries competing. But the project stalled for several years with the event’s official social media pausing all updates back in 2017.
SBS Commissioning Editor and Australian Head of Delegation, Josh Martin tells TV Tonight:
“I think it’s fair to say we’ve rescinded our rights. We spent a number of years trying to figure out how to do it and then the global pandemic came along. It’s very different to the way Eurovision started post-World War Two, as a means of bringing people together. There was a real purpose in establishing it.”
TV Tonight understands pivotal to gaining regional enthusiasm was having China on board but despite producers pursuing discussions in the region, it could not be realised.
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— OIKOTIMES (@theoikotimes) May 25, 2021
It’s not the first time the event has struggled to get off the ground. The EBU previously licensed an Asia Pacific Contest to Asiavision Pte. Ltd., which announced an event for Macau in 2009, then Mumbai in 2010, including an Australian entry from SBS. Neither of those events was ever realised.
“Eurovision Asia is difficult for a number of reasons: timezones, language barriers, all sorts of issues,” Martin continues. We tried so hard but that was one that we just could never quite pin down. It’s kind of like any TV show. You put a lot of things into development, and not all of them get up. So that was one that we could not, for whatever reason, make work.”
The EBU has long harboured a desire to extend its Eurovision brand globally. After years of rumours, NBC has now confirmed a state vs. state American Song Contest for 2022.
“The American Song Contest is getting some traction and that’s taken a long time to do as well,” says Martin. “It’s still not there yet but look at the comparison. That’s a country that has a universal language and a love of music formats and it’s still difficult, but it’s never for lack of trying.”
Blink TV declined to comment.
