(Photo: SMG)

‘Singing with Legends’, a variety show from Shanghai Media Group, will soon have foreign versions in Europe and the US.

The show’s format has been picked up by broadcasters in Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the US, the Shanghai Daily reports.

These developments are a historic breakthrough for original Chinese television programmes, which once borrowed and imitated successful foreign formats, the newspaper says.

Production for the Spanish version of the show is underway, slated to air on Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE later this year.

‘Singing with Legends’ features young, promising singers teaming up with well-known veteran singers to deliver new adaptations and interpretations of classic songs. It debuted on SMG’s Dragon TV in 2019 and is preparing for a fourth season.

With the support of the National Radio and Television Administration, many shows, such as China Central Television’s cultural programmes ‘National Treasure’ and ‘Readers’, have been exhibited in international TV festivals and markets in recent years.

‘Singing with Legends’ was first presented to international buyers at the Cannes TV Festival in October 2020.

Dragon TV has since signed format-sharing agreements with broadcast organisations including RTVE, France’s Herve Hubert SAS, Spain’s Grupo Ganga, Italy’s Garbo Produzioni and America’s Warner Bros. Entertainment.