The European Broadcasting Union has confirmed it is focusing on the expansion of the Eurovision Song Contest brand through continental versions of the contest.
Martin Green, Director of the Eurovision Song Contest, has explained that the EBU’s focus on further expansion of the Eurovision Song Contest is through continental formats, not individual countries. Mr Green’s comments came at a press event where the Eurovision Song Contest Asia was presented.
The Eurovision Song Contest Asia is the first new international Eurovision format to take to TV screens since the American Song Contest, which aired in 2022 on NBC in the United States. Entries from all 50 states, 5 U.S. territories, and the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., competed for the title of Best Original Song. The show was made up of five qualifying rounds, followed by two semi-finals, and ended with a grand final where the winner was crowned.
The American Song Contest lasted one series before it was cancelled by NBC, with the last update on the future of the contest in 2023. Mr Green reflected that the American Song Contest was not really “our format”, and that “if you do only country (formats), it becomes The Voice or Idol”.
During the past decade, the EBU and Voxovation, which hold the rights to the Eurovision Song Contest format outside of Europe, have announced several different formats. These range from national formats to continental formats:
Arab World – Proposed by Voxovation since November 2025, the Arab World is defined as being formed of 22 countries, ranging from Oman to Mauritania.
Eurovision Song Contest Asia – First contest to be held in Bangkok, Thailand on November 14. A total of ten countries have signed up to compete in the one night contest.
🇨🇦 Canada – First announced in April 2022, the plan of the contest is for artists from each of the 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada to compete in a series of qualification shows, semi-finals and a Grand Final. No broadcaster was formally announced as airing the competition, with Insight Productions working to find a local broadcaster to collaborate with.
🇮🇳 India – Format proposed by Voxovation in March 2023. India is home to 28 different states and 8 territories.
Latin America – First announced in July 2022, the contest looked likely to be held in Chile last year. Reports around the contest have been silent for the past 12 months.
🇺🇸 United States – American Song Contest was held once in 2022 before being dropped by NBC.
It is noteworthy that while the national formats in Canada and India by Voxovation are still accessible on their website, they are no longer actively listed on their main pages, highlighting potential formats. The United States remains actively listed as having potential for a format.