Looking for future hits and trends? Look no further! CEETV, TVBIZZ and TVBIZZ have got you covered!

Another proof of this came just a few hours ago, as NBC announced that it will be adapting the Norwegian format The Stream. Here’s what we wrote in TVBIZZ Magazine’s MIPTV edition back in April:

“The moment we heard about The Stream coming up in Norway we knew it was going to be big. Now, several weeks after the launch of the application stage with more than a thousand artists who have signed up and generated over a million streams on the web we know that this show is already a hit – six months before its TV premiere.”

It looks like NBC agree and will launch the show next year. The Stream is currently on air on TV 2 Norway, leading its Friday night slot, as reported by TVBIZZ.

MIPCOM 2016 starts next week and naturally TVBIZZ Magazine is coming out with a new edition and a look at some of the most-interesting formats coming up on the international market. Grab your copy in Cannes from Monday!

Meanwhile, here is our top feature from the MIPTV 2016 edition dedicated to The Stream

The Stream: More than a talent show

The moment we heard about The Stream coming up in Norway we knew it was going to be big. Now, several weeks after the launch of the application stage with more than a thousand artists who have signed up and generated over a million streams on the web and Spotify we know that this show is already a hit – six months before its TV premiere.

The Stream is the first music reality format uniting the big record labels with a major broadcaster and the leading music streaming service Spotify. Iliyan Stoychev introduces us to this great idea and its creators.

The Concept

The Stream takes talent shows to the next level. Everyone can upload their video online to The Stream website, where it instantly becomes available to the public eye. Once a contribution is online it’s up to the public to spread, share and stream their favorite music. All musical talents can participate – whether they are a talented singer, rap-duo or an electronic group. The 100 most streamed talents will be invited to a showcase, where they will perform in front of the world’s most prestigious record companies: Universal, Sony and Warner Music. During this showcase, the record companies will choose 40 artists who they will work closely with for one week. At the end of the week, each record company will choose and sign their three favorite artists.
When the artists have been signed, they will compete in a weekly live show. Their music will at the same time be available on Spotify, where the viewers can stream their favorites.

The most streamed artists stay in the competition, and the least streamed artist risk eviction. It’s up to the audience which artists stay in the competition, and which ones have to leave, based on the number of streams as well as traditional voting during the live shows.

The winner of The Stream is the most streamed artist - discovered and chosen by the public. The Stream is produced by Monster and will air on TV 2 Norway.

The Creators

The Stream is a concept uniting the efforts of Norway’s leading independent production company Monster, the country’s biggest commercial broadcaster TV 2, the Top 3 music labels in the Nordics and the region’s most popular music streaming service Spotify. Six different companies united by one great idea with the goal to find Norway’s new music stars – on TV, on the web, on the radio and on Spotify.

But how did this project come to life? Apparently, it was all very simple, as Executive Producer Christian Holst Menseth tells us.

Christian Holst Meinseth, Executive Producer / Monster

How was the idea for The Stream born?

The idea for The Stream came from the Norwegian music producer Jørn Dahl and developed by Monster. Mr. Dahl wanted to make a new musical talent show that truly reflects how the music industry works today and how new artists are discovered and developed. In The Stream our contestants upload their video on our webpage. The top 100 most streamed artists by a specific date are then invited to showcase in front of an A&R’s from the three major record labels Sony, Universal and Warner. The labels sign a contract with three artists each, who all are through to the live shows. The songs performed on the live shows are all released on Spotify, and the audience vote by streaming the songs.

What is the strategy to transform this purely digital initiative into a successful TV format?

Our strategy is to take what is already out there and what already works and make it into TV. People with a musical talent today tend to record their music and upload it online, and when the audience find something they like, the sky is the limit as to how far the artist can reach. Justin Bieber and Adele are both good examples of how successful you can become just by uploading a video. The Stream will have the contestants do exactly that journey. And the audience will follow them all the way from the boy or girl‘s room to the height of their career.

How did you manage to get all the parties in the format on board – the broadcaster, Spotify and the music labels?

All of them thought this was a good idea and that it was relevant to all of them. This is actually how the music industry works today. Artists are discovered online, signed by label and developed into stars. The labels see this as a good opportunity to find new talent.

What is the biggest challenge with The Stream?

Since we are at a very early stage this is a little hard to answer yet. But the development of the website is something that we have never done before, and have given us a few challenges and unforeseen difficulties. But now everything is working quite well.

Talent formats are often criticized to produce short-lived stars season by season. Does The Stream make a difference?

I definitely think The Stream will make a difference in this matter. The audience follows the talent from the very beginning and has their favorites even before the show is on the air. Also, because the contestants are signed by a record label before the first live show, and it releases the songs they perform, the audience has to listen to their music to vote for them. The contestants are more like true artists throughout the live shows in The Stream than in any other musical talent show. That makes it more likely that the artists stand a better chance for a career also after the show is off the air.

Will this be The Next Big Thing? How are the format and royalty rights split?

I really think this is a fresh new format that suits the modern digital time we live in. The streaming of both music and video are growing significantly year-by-year worldwide, and I think that a show like The Stream which picks up on this trend, has a great chance to become the next big thing.

The broadcaster

TV 2 is not only the leading commercial broadcaster in Norway but also a true pioneer in introducing innovative new formats to the local market and then to the rest of the world. Even though, the broadcaster holds the rights to shows like The Voice and Idols, they were very eager to give the TV stage to The Stream, as Program Director Jarle Nakken tells us.

Jarle Nakken, Program Director / TV 2

How did you decide to green light a ground-breaking new format such as The Stream?
TV 2 is always searching for new and fresh ideas and are willing to take the risk of developing new formats along with innovative production entities in our territory and internationally. The Stream is maybe the first format where the basic engine is in sync with how we consume music and how artists are discovered today. Adele, Justin Bieber and Kygo entered the world's stage through uploading their songs on various platforms and sharing them. The music industry and the media landscape as a whole is in constant change and so it´s important for us to change with it and make TV that is relevant to our audience.

Can The Stream compete with established talent formats such as The Voice and X-Factor which the viewers are used to?

We believe several formats can live side by side at the same TV station. It is vital to have variety in the schedule and so we believe The Stream can have a long and successful life at TV 2 along with other great formats such as The Voice, Got Talent and Idols. Hopefully, The Stream will travel to other territories as well.

Does The Stream have a potential to surprise the audience?

The Stream has a strong footprint with the audience as all casting is done digitally and by people actually listening to the music that is uploaded to thestream.no. A couple of weeks after the launch of the website and nearly 6 months before we air our first live show, there has already been nearly a million streams of uploaded songs and numbers are climbing steadily. When we start airing, the audience are already familiar with several of the artists and we believe this will give us a kick start into the first season of this great format. The surprises and the highs and the lows will come as soon as the talents that are fortunate enough to enter the competition start on their journey towards fame. We believe we have some great TV moments to look forward to.
Can such a format increase the interest of the younger digital-savvy demo for TV?
The Stream will have a strong digital base and so we believe that it will appeal to the younger demos. We can already see that from thestream.no statistics. However, our main focus is always great storytelling. We are confident that The Stream will engage all audiences as the stories of hopeful and aspiring musical talents embarking on the road towards fame unfold.

Bjarne Laastad, Assisting Head of Communications at TV 2, adds:

It’s great to see that over 100 aspiring artists upload their videos on www.thestream.no every week. For a completely new show, this is quite impressive here in Norway. It’s also amazing to see all the local media coverage that the contestants are able to obtain on their own initiative. The show won’t air on linear television for another 6 months, but the local papers are giving much column space to their local contestants already.