American Song Contest: Christer Björkman “upset” with the ratings!

Swedish producer Christer Björman worked last year with Peter Settman , Anders Lenhoff and Ola Melzig to bring Eurovision to the United States.  They were the men behind the American Song Contest which premiered in 2022.

However, the rating results were far from perfect.  The season premiere got only 2.9 million viewers.  The number dropped to just 1.6 million viewers.  This means that the American Song Contest got a smaller audience than Melodifestivalen despite the United States having a population 30 times bigger than Sweden!

In spite of this upset, Björkman considers that the final responsibility lies in the broadcaster in charge of the project, NBC.

That’s really a question for them to answer. Are they satisfied with how they got the message out? No, I do not think so. Are they happy with the viewership? No, I don’t think so either. Are they happy that they moved four weeks so they ended up on the same start date as Idol? No, I don’t think they’re happy with that either.

American Song Contest: second season?

After the show aired a number of NBC executives have been replaced.  At this point, the Swedish quartet is in contact with the new executives to discuss a second season.  According to Björkman, negotiations are still going on.  There is a 50/50 chance we will see a second season of the American Song Contest.  The team has sent a proposal to NBC executives that is pending for their approval.  In the end, the result will depend “on the money”.

AleXa won the American Song Contest 2022 representing the state of Oklahoma.

Source: Aftonbladet