Following it’s inaugural season in 2022, it was confirmed yesterday by show producer and creator Christer Björkman that the American Song Contest will not happen in 2023.
The topic came up while speaking to Euromovidas during Benidorm Fest 2023, where Björkman described that while he is proud of the contest and the team’s work on it, he is not sure that NBC wishes to move forward with the show. NBC is the American broadcaster who has shown interest in Eurovision programming in recent years, opting to broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest to American viewers during both 2021 and 2022. The prior US broadcasting contract was with Netflix, who let it expire in 2020.
Björkman’s company Voxovation is not giving up on the project, as they filed for a copyright on the name American Song Contest in June 2022. Björkman also stated to Euromovidas that it would take “around five years for the contest to become established in the US”. He went on to say in the interview that he hopes it can return as soon as 2024, even if it’s not being featured on NBC.
The future of the contest has long been in question given that the submission portal has not been updated, and NBC moving forward with a Spring 2023 season of The Voice – a show that they postponed in Spring 2022 to air ASC. When speaking to Swedish newspaper Afltonbladet in August, Björkman stated that while negotiations were ongoing with NBC “it is, as always, about money.” It is likely that the company will instead continue work on Eurovision Canada and Eurovision Song Contest: Latin America announced in 2022.
Despite failing to impress the American public due to low promotion, a confusing voting process, poor scheduling, and more – the contest did pick up a nomination at the 2022 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lighting Design and Lighting Direction for a Variety Series. Ironically, ASC lost the award to the Voice season 22 which ended on December 13th, 2022.
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