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ITV axes new telly talent show Rising Star without airing an episode

By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 18 September 2014

ITV has axed its new TV talent show ‘Rising Star’ in anticipation of people not liking it; it having not actually aired yet.

As previously reported, a format bought from Israeli company Keshet International last year, the show would have seen contenders perform while viewers voted on whether or not to keep them in the competition via an interactive app, with immediate feedback flashed up in front of the contestants’ very eyes.

ITV’s decision to end pre-production on the programme comes after versions in the US and Germany flopped.

An ITV spokesperson told reporters: “‘Rising Star’ is an innovative show and we have enjoyed working on the format with the team. However, as a commercial broadcaster, we always need to be as confident as possible about the potential ratings of any new programme format that we have acquired and we have therefore taken the decision not to proceed with plans to broadcast the series on ITV”.

Keshet’s UK office had been working on the British version with ITV Studios, and its COO Sammy Nourmand said yesterday: “There’s always a risk attached when launching an ambitious new concept and we’re obviously disappointed by ITV’s decision not to move forward with ‘Rising Star’. We would like to extend our thanks to the team at ITV Studios who have worked tirelessly to adapt the format for a UK audience. ‘Rising Star’ remains an innovative and groundbreaking format of which we’re extremely proud”.

Meanwhile, BBC One’s ‘The Voice’ is gearing up for its fourth series next year. Which probably says something about how publicly funded and commercial TV companies work differently.