Start your engines: the world of RuPaul’s Drag Race and Eurovision are set to collide. The EBU and Viacom have joined forces for a second year to broadcast Eurovision 2017 on the USA’s Logo TV network.
What’s more, we’ve got a new set of American hosts and quite frankly, we couldn’t think of anyone better. Taking over the mic this year will be none other than Michelle Visage and Ross Matthews!
Michelle and Ross will be known to many fans as being two of the permanent judges on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Michelle also starred in the UK’s Celebrity Big Brother in 2015, reaching the final.
Taking to Twitter, it seems Michelle is very much looking forward to her task:
GET READY!!! CANNOT WAIT TO COMMENTATE https://t.co/FVXwLJtX8f
— michelle visage (@michellevisage) April 27, 2017
In a statement released by the EBU, Executive Superivor Jon Ola Sand seems enthusiastic about Logo’s second year broadcasting.
“The EBU is thrilled to be partnering with Logo for the second year running to bring the unique spectacle of the Eurovision Song Contest LIVE to US audiences once again. We know that the Contest has a lot of dedicated fans in the United States and we’re excited that, thanks to Logo, even more viewers this year can discover the excitement of the world’s longest running annual TV music competition and “celebrate diversity” with audiences around the world.”
Once again, the show will be available to watch not only on TV, but also at Logo’s website and mobile app. All the action will kick off on May 13 at 1500 EST/1200 PST.
https://twitter.com/LogoTV/status/857645492859260930
Logo & Eurovision 2016
Logo first broadcast Eurovision last year — but not without some teething problems. Hosts Carson Kressley and Michelle Collins did not go down well with many American fans. Clearly, Logo are already on that issue.
Other problems included the geo-blocking of many Eurovision songs on YouTube by Logo. This means that many fans still cannot watch back certain parts of last year’s contest.
To make matters worse, Logo also could not broadcast last year’s interval act for licencing reasons. Perhaps a little ironic, given that the interval act was American singer, Justin Timberlake.
No doubt many fans will be hoping for Logo to step it up for this year’s broadcast. If they don’t, then maybe fans will ask them to sashay away!
Do you think Ross and Michelle will make good hosts for Logo’s Eurovision coverage? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments section below!
The UK coverage is done by very funny Irish host graham norton, shame you guys can’t access that! The competition does need some explanation otherwise viewers won’t have any idea of what’s going on. In terms of good songs there is usually about 4 a year!
I really hope Ross and Michelle do research on Eurovision before they start talking about the show. I watched last year’s show, and the commentators, though I had high hopes for them, didn’t research the history and it showed. Maybe William and Deban should meet with Ross, Michelle, and any other person On the Logo Channel and give a history lesson.
I had never even heard of Logo until last year when they first got the rights. But this is a terrible move–almost no one has this channel and the region blocking is killing me. I got a VPN in case I can’t watch the contest online, which I will be livid if that is the case. Bravo or ABC would have been a better choice, hell why not show the UK broadcast on BBC America? Regardless, this American will still watch Eurovision through SVT or YLE.
Michelle Collilns wasn’t the presenter. Michelle Visage was the presenter last year and she is back this year. They are not on-the-pulse, because they just changed the guy with her.
Nope they are right. Last year wasn’t Michelle Visage but indeed Michelle Collins (see the logotv site here: http://www.newnownext.com/eurovision-live/05/2016/)
I thought the broadcast last year was quite funny. I just hate that I can’t watch any of those damn videos on youtube!
and also i am really uncomfortable with my identity being used as a marketing tactic by viacom i feel like this is logo desperately trying to keep itself alive in an era where VH1 broadcasts Drag Race by accruing all the things on earth even tenuously associated with gay people onto their website and forcing people to go there to get content under the assumption that people will be okay with it because logo ~represents them~ but to be honest it’s clearly turning people off i literally bought a vpn to avoid having to re-watch eurovision 2016 through logo i’ve… Read more »
ugh as much as I love RPDR no american other than william lee adams should be allowed to commentate eurovision ever
so
misinformed
if any DC fish know if the Ukrainian embassy is hosting a live screening w/o commentary pls let me know because i am distraught that carson kressley is narrating my eurovision experience this year
Bravo would have been the much better choice and Andy would have been an awesome commentator. He is pretty smart and has wide international connections, so he would definitely know something about the countries and cultures he would be commenting on. Furthermore he is very respectful and measured when it comes to making comments so nothing demeaning or dumb would come out of his mouth, unlike the mediocre hosts of last year. As many people have mentioned here though it all comes down to how much profit can be made from advertising during that specific time slot, although surely ESC… Read more »
Eurovision being on LOGO is why it will be associated with gayness. I highly doubt straight people even know what logo is. It’s not inclusive and just further makes Eurovision be seen by everyone as a gay x-factor or something. It’s a shame. MTV/Bravo/E!/ABC could have shown it better.
This is AWFUL news !!!
We still can’t watch any of the 2016 contest online, and it seems that we’ll have the same problem again.
Also, here in the US, everything is moving online, so watching Eurovision on TV is somewhat “old fashion.”
This move is harming the chances of Eurovision becoming popular in the US.
Indeed; I believe it’s called “cord-cutting?” It’s a growing trend in the US & Canada to abandon expensive TV subscrpitions and switch to online only services. Perhaps the Eurovision broadcasting model (and rules) is itself becoming obsolete and outtdated.
I feel sorry for the Americans, mostly because Logo is broadcasting ESC 2017 for them again. (That means Geoblocking. Anyway, the Swedish commentary will have Mans as co-commentator, so that’s a good alternative).
I seriously thought that after what happened last year, EBU would have considered other broadcasters, but nope, they are trying this again.
I wish EBU would give other broadcasters a chance if Logo screwed it up again.
I think SVT will block their feed on SVT Play this year. And because they were hosts last year, they can show it worldwide.
Sure, Americans have other ways to solve this problem, but I think it would have been better if other broadcasters are given the chance to commentate (BBC America quite likely, especially if they love Graham Norton’s commentary, resulting in a very high demand).
The question is: which broadcaster will do a Eurovision commentary the best (without ads, of course)?
Just to add on what I have written, I will like to wonder why EBU will still let Logo TV broadcast Eurovision in USA despite criticism from some of our American readers and failing ratings and why did Logo TV did so in the first place. Is there a clear obligation between Viacom and EBU to strictly broadcast Eurovision on Logo TV, so do Viacom feel Logo is the best choice to broadcast Eurovision? To further add on, on an estimation how many Americans tune in to Eurovision on Logo TV last year and whether there was criticism on the… Read more »
If you guys have Deutsche Welle TV on your cable, they’ll air the German broadcast globally. Likewise for TVE Internacional.
Good thing I also have RTP International so I hope I get to see the Portuguese feed.
I watched the TVE International feed during the 2014 final so there are ways to see it if you have the international channels.
weeerkkk! they’re gonna read the show to filth i’m sure.
It makes me somewhat uncomfortable that a channel originally intended to contain “programming aimed at LGBT viewers” (but admittedly now a broader lifestyle channel) should buy the broadcasting rights to Eurovision in the USA. As much as Eurovision does have a pro-LGBT following, it is not ONLY for that demographic. Having an “LGBT-only” culture in itself is a form of isolation and discrimination; it’s no different to the segregation of black and white people that the USA overturned in the 20th Century. Since the theme of this year’s ESC is “Celebrate Diversity,” I find the choice of Logo as a… Read more »
If Viacom has any intention of getting more eyeballs to see their broadcast of the contest, simulcasting this to its other channels such as MTV Live, CMT, BET and MTV Classic would have been the most logical choice.
Such a shame.
First time commenter. Even the most basic of basic cable packages here offer MTV and VH1 as part of their programming. Wouldn’t it make more sense to try and reach as many viewers as possible by airing or simulcasting it on either one of those channels? MTV is used to airing big events like this (VMAs, Movie & TV Awards, EMAs), why not let MTV and it’s sister networks simulcast it? And add me to the list of people who think that putting it only on Logo is a bad idea (and I am saying this as a straight woman… Read more »
This is exactly why I despise it being on logo. Yes, we get it, gay people have been taking over as the majority of the live audience for the past couple years. But I don’t think we realize just how alienating it is. We’re still grouped and stereotyped and anything that we stick our rainbow flags on will be branded as gay, and will the average straight person still have interest after seeing it? Probably not. If I were straight, and I had no idea what Eurovision was, I would be thoroughly put-off by just how gay Eurovision has become… Read more »
Viacom is going to geoblock us again, I just know it. Also, the broadcast last year was pretty universally hated by seemingly every single American that watched, i can at least hope this will be better. (it probably won’t be)
EBU stopped answering questions about unblocking the US, so I guess American fans are just screwed now, huh?
Most likely us Canadians are in the same boat, even though we don’t get Logo. I was angry that the 2016 live performance clips were blocked here, so I hope and pray we don’t get screwed over again!
What about the Eurovision.tv live stream – Is that still happening?
Canada is a bit of a broadcasting nightmare because of all the shared content with the US, but in theory Canada shouldn’t be geoblocked. It’s probably best to write to the Eurovision representatives by e-mail; there are contact details on the website. I hope that helps.
It’s a huge way to narrow the audience by putting in on Logo. I’m sure many average Americans who could have come across eurovision if it was on NBC, ABC, etc. will see it on “the gay channel” and hear the commentators and just automatically link eurovision with being a gay version of american idol. What a shame.
But then again, Logo is on its last legs after losing Drag Race to sister channel VH1. It seems inevitable now at this point for a certain rebranding.
Yes, we can still watch it on eurovision.tv…I have ever year since 2010 with no problem! 😀
No offense to Logo but they need to stop broadcasting the show there. I hope a broadcast network like ABC, NBC, CBS or FOX will pick it up. That way anyone would be able to watch it. Also they could show the semifinals as well as the grand final.
Heck I prefer it air on E! or Bravo or VH1 than Logo if they were going to air on cable. At least with Bravo, Andy Cohen can commentate.
Guess I’ll be watching Edward and Måns’ commentary on SVT.
Same, dude. Same. Except for the SVT part, my internet sucks. I probably would have troubles watching the livecast
Agreed. The problem is there are so few ad breaks, and American broadcast TV typically has about 15 minutes of ads per hour. For a 3.5 hour final, they’d want about 55 minutes of ad time to stuff in there. Otherwise, it’s not profitable for them. PBS, the public broadcaster, makes more sense because they don’t show ads. But PBS is actually a patchwork of locally operated stations and each one makes its own programming decisions. So it would be a case where PBS negotiates the airing rights with EBU, but then each station decides if they want to contribute… Read more »
I was really thinking about PBS airing it, seeing as they show a lot of European/British programming. I wouldn’t mind so much if they showed it delayed as the Ukraine is so far ahead of us and most people wouldn’t be able to watch it live in the afternoon.
I was hoping after last year’s ratings failure (only a few thousand people watched Logo’s broadcast) they would have given up. As an American Eurovision fan this is very disappointing. Logo did not broadcast the semi-finals and it broadcast the final live, which meant it aired in the middle of the day in the U.S. The frustrating thing is that Logo and Viacom had no options to watch the contest after it aired and all YouTube videos of performances were blocked. I hope these problems from last year will be fixed this year or Eurovision’s outreach to the U.S may… Read more »
I just have realised so many recent winners are involved in this year’s Eurovision season.
Jamala was a judge in Ukrainian’s NF.
Mans performed as a guest on Eesti Laul.
Conchita appeared in Amsterdam, I believe.
Emmelie de Forrest is an author of the UK’s song.
Loreen took part in Melodifestivalen.
Lena was a host of Unser Song
Mans will also be a commentator for Swedish television
Speaking of which, Robin S. (Sweden 2013) co-wrote Sweden’s entry
Amir, Freddie and Sebalter (France 2016, Hungary 2016 and Switzerland 2014 respectively) commentating for their respective countries (Wikipedia)
And on top of that, Alyona (Belarus 2013), Nika (Georgia 2016), Animata (Latvia 2015) and Douwe Bob (Netherlands 2016) are presenting their country’s jury points (Wikipedia).
So yeah, some of the previous entrants are involved for this year’s Eurovision.
Can someone tell me what kind of complaints they received last year?
My impression was: although I thoroughly enjoyed the energy and sincerity, it came off as somewhat unprofessional. Rather than serving the American public with the proper context they very much played to the usual stereotypes, stubbornly steering away from any trace of substance.
I somehow felt sorry for those Americans who had invited their non-eurovision-loving friends to watch it. While the commentary has great novelty value for me, I wouldn’t want it to be anyone’s first impression of Eurovision.
Mattias, the big complaint with Logo’s commentators last year is that they knew NOTHING about Eurovision or any of the performers, and they acted as if they couldn’t care less. That meant they were reading facts off of cards, or else they made lame jokes about people’s costumes or hair. They also talked over the hosts and some of the songs. They totally played to the stereotype of the loud, ignorant Americans. I hosted a viewing party with friends, and I kept apologizing and saying it’s never been like this before. It was super annoying – they just needed to… Read more »
OK, thanks, that’s what I thought.
Yeah, I can imagine the frustration. The commentators have great responsibility in maintaining the integrity of the show. Something they clearly failed at.
I hope it works out better this year.
The big complaint was the Youtube block. We still can’t watch any bit of last year’s contest online.
Further, even the LogosTV website doesn’t offer the contest for us to watch, nor can we purchase it on iTunes.
It sounds like Eurovision’s reach is actually being KILLED in the US, not strengthened. Interesting. Could this have been secretly deliberate?
Well, good thing Ukrainian band ONUKA is this year’s interval act. Meanwhile, Italy is the hot favorite to win in Kiev. If so, the 2018 interval act will of course have to be from Italy! 😉
Since logo got the rights to t, the youtube videos of the live shows and the full show are no longer available in the US.
This is really bad.
No one watches it on logo, and Eurovision fans can’t share Eurovision moments with their friends in the US.
Don’t air the show on Logo, please!
I dont care about Logo broadcasting, but for the love of God at least don’t geoblock the videos on YouTube when streaming the semi finals and let them still be blocked after the show. As someone who been watching Eurovision from the US in the last 6 years
I agree!!! Stop the Logo broadcast, return live Eurovision to Youtube!
I couldn’t agree more! I was very happy watching it through YouTube. Although I love Ross, I despise the geoblocking. Logo and EBU get your crap together if you want the US fan base to grow! If there is any ESC watch party in Dallas, TX holler!
Michelle and Ross will slay!!! Shante they stay!
The best question is will 2016’s coverage continued to be geoblocked on YouTube? 2015 was the best because I was able to watch it on Youtube and connect it to Xbox One. Watching the occasional episode of Drag Race, I’m sure Michelle V. and Ross will do a better job than Michelle C. and Carson. They better do their homework before hand or else it’s another year watching on the SVT feed.
I’d still rather watch the live feed from the Eurovision website like I used to be able to :(. I’ve always watched it without commentating and I really preferred it that way. At least they changed the commentators—Michelle Collins was okay but Carson Kressley ruined the whole show… he kept talking over Petra and I think even during a couple of the songs. And he had absolutely no knowledge of the contest… it was like watching an “Americans React” youtube video. The licensing problems were also a joke so I really hope they got that figured out. Either way I’m… Read more »
Oddly enough, there was a “Youtubers React” video for Eurovision last year. 😉
Last year’s non-ESC personalities were horrible for the US broadcast. Hope this year is much better. I am just happy that I can record it and show it during my ESC viewing party in Texas.
WHERE IS THE VIEWING PARTY IN TEXAS?? DALLAS ESC FAN HERE I WILL TRAVEL
Last year so cringe like I didn’t watch it live because I don’t have logo and because I don’t have logo and the Eurovision stream was blocked in the US because of Logo having the rights I had to do a dodgy BBC stream over skype with a friend in the U.K. I just feel that keeping it on Logo and getting Logo personalities to do the commentary will lead to a lot of comments that are meant to be funny and throw shade. Like when I have my viewing parties that’s the kind of thing we do but it’s… Read more »