NBC will Stream Nordic competition series

US broadcaster NBC has acquired another European talent competition format, which will sit alongside The Voice.

The Comcast-owned network will remake The Stream, which distributor Nordic World has been peddling in the run up to MIPCOM.

The format comes from Norway, where it has made noise on commercial broadcaster TV2.

It is a singing competition series in which the search for the next Justin Bieber begins with members of the public uploading their music videos to an online platform. The 100-most streamed are then invited to a showcase, where they perform in front of music industry establishment.

Thirty go on to work with the executives for a week, with each honcho signing their best three artists. These competitors when go up against each other in a live weekly show, with their fate decided by the number of streams they get.

In the US, Paul Telegdy’s Universal Television Alternative Studio, which is part of NBCUniversal, will produce in association with Monster, TV2, Nordic World and Little Hill. Paradigm packaged the format for the States.

“The Stream brilliantly uses technology and social media to draw music lovers in and make them part of the process,” said Telegdy.

Various networks were interested in the format, it is understood. Nordic World VP, acquisitions Ann Christin Silijan told TBI recently that the format was attracting among the most attention any programme the company had launched to date.

The series is the second singing format on NBC, with the The Voice a consistent ratings-winner. That format hails from Netherlands-based Talpa Media, highlighting the network’s faith in international formats.

Last week, NBC also greenlit Common Sense, a reality series from All3Media-owned Studio Lambert and Universal TV Alternative Studio.