Eurovision 2015 - 60th Anniversary Edition

To clarify just in case I upset any Wogan fans, he was of course brilliant through the 80s and 90s but I'm talking about his last few years of commentaries, when his growing disinterest and frustration at the contest crossed the line from affectionate mocking into genuine nastiness. 2008 was horrible to listen to and I think he was well aware it, hence the swift retirement.

I understand why, he hated it. When coming to the voting, it annoyed him!

The best approach from the BBC would be to create a stand-alone talent show (or utilise The Voice) with the winner going on to represent us at Eurovision. Melodifestivalen in Sweden often gets HIGHER viewing figures than Eurovision. Swedes aren't as fussed about Eurovision as people think. They just love Melodifestivalen! This is the position we could reach. Germany has also taken this approach with ARD working with a younger, cooler commercial TV operation to build a really strong selection show.

They did the talent show route. They just ended up with X factor rejects. The only decent auditionee was Rita Ora who was talked out of appearing on it by management and other industry insiders as it would have tarnished her.
http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_SStennett1.html

Pretty sure the German show has had very poor ratings in recent years.

This is suggested a lot and its nonsense really. The Voice looks for a 'voice' you'd still have the problem that you had to find a song.

Melodifestivalen is the biggest show in Sweden, except when they have a Royal Wedding. It's also a national tradition that has been running pretty much for as long as the Eurovision has. They had MF in the 60s. Sure, it got a reboot in 2002, but it's been pretty much the same for the last 13 years.

It's not a reality show - labels push artists to enter (even when they don't want to) as it guarantees record sales in Sweden. It pushes their domestic music industry (though it has a very distinct 'flavour' and doesn't encompass quite a lot of popular Swedish music, though even credible acts will appear alongside Schlager-legends)

However SVT doesn't really have any other major entertainment brands that overlap in winter/spring - all of the big shows - Talang (aka Sweden's Got Talent), Let's Dance (aka Strictly), X Factor, Idol (aka Swedish Pop Idol) and The Voice are all on commercial channels (mainly TV4). Therefore SVT really need a decent multi week entertainment format. Melodifestivalen ticks that box (with Allsång på Skansen hitting it in the summer, competing with Sommarkrysset and Lotta på Liseberg)

Melodifestivalen exists almost distinct from the ESC. A bit like San Remo.

The issue is that with Strictly and The Voice, the BBC really don't need a new entertainment format at the moment. They don't have the schedule slots for it. And a BBC One commissioner is unlikely to commission a Eurovision selection series, heck they stopped commissioning the one-off. The BBC Eurovision production team can't force BBC One to commission a show. If the controller and commissioner doesn't want it, it doesn't happen.

When the BBC did try it they had to kind of fix the result, with Jade Ewen parachuted in at the end of the process in the Lloyd Webber format (only used because he didn't have a show to cast and the BBC had committed to a show)

The UK is in a catch 22. Eurovision still doesn't have credibiity. Sure some credible songs win and do well - but lot of what is sent is still hilariously terrible. We love it, and that's the show we watch, but it doesn't create a thirst for a selection show outside a relatively small group of ESC fans.

Some countries do this, and the problem is that voters are backing their favourite act because of their journey in a reality show. On Eurovision, none of this will be explained and voters across Europe will see the act in a completely different context, so it doesn't always translate.

Not to mention the scoreboard graphics struggled to cope with all the animations and countries listed.

And indeed I'd say 2003 to 2008 were terrible years re bloc voting and by the end of it all Wogan basically handed in his notice live on air.

The voting went on for an eternity at one point, where every country gave every point, complete with English and French translations of each point in return. I think they've got it right now, where each country gives 8, 10 and 12 points, the confirmation is given in the translated language only and when an outright winner is declared (ie no one else can win) the winner is declared giving them chance to get from green room to stage while the formality of the remaining votes are received.

That article sums up exactly what's wrong with the industry's attitude to Eurovision.

I think it is far more a reflection of why the UK has a different relationship with Eurovision than many other countries which enter. Our music industry doesn't need it, and sees no value in it. In fact it sees it as a toxic brand in terms of a musical career for a British artist.

However much people wish that weren't the case - it IS the case. The show itself perpetuates that attitude when you see many of the entries. Sure those entries don't score well, but they are part of the reason so many people from the UK watch. If the show were just wall-to-wall Anouk and The Common Linnets (Great as both those entries were) its credibility would probably go up a bit. But the show wouldn't be on the air because nobody would be watching. It's a catch-22. The contest has never really had any credibility in the UK music industry. That's really unlikely to change. But the reason it is popular here is precisely because it has zero credibility.

I love the show to bits. Am a huge fan. But I'm a fan because it's a huge TV spectacle, giving us a window into other countries that we don't usually get. I'm not looking for it to generate a new international music star.