JarJar Nixon's Blues Kitchen

March 26, 2007 Monday 3:36 PM GMT

DATELINE: HANOI Vietnam

Television producers in this karaoke-crazy country are hoping to have a
smash with "Vietnam Idol," the newest version of the singing contest
that is a major hit in the West.

A Vietnamese advertising company purchased the rights to "American Idol"
for an undisclosed sum from FremantleMedia, which produced the first
"Idol" show in Britain, according to Nguyen Chi Tan, deputy director of
the Ho Chi Minh City Television network, or HTV.

The show, to be produced by HTV, will be broadcast on eight channels
nationwide.

Following the same format as the Fox network's U.S. show, a parade of
would-be pop stars will audition before a three-judge panel and try to
win the votes of television viewers across this nation of 84 million people.

Fox is owned by News Corp.

About 7,000 contestants are expected to audition next month in the
cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho and Danang. The field will be
narrowed to 30 singers before the show goes on the air in May.

Week by week, viewers will vote by mobile phone text message to decide
which performers will progress to the next round, until a winner is
selected in September.

"'Idol' is one of the most popular TV shows in America and Europe. We
hope it will be the same in Vietnam," Tan said. More than 30 countries have
already broadcast their own versions of the "Idol" show.

The Vietnamese rights to the show have been purchased by the Dat Viet
Advertising Company based in the southern business hub of Ho Chi Minh
City.

_________________________________________________________________
Get a FREE Web site, company branded e-mail and more from Microsoft Office
Live! http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/mcrssaub0050001411mrt/direct/01/