Now, That’s What I Call Quality Programming

Sure, we had some fun times with FNMTV before MTV took to just slapping the brand on its occasional block of videos, but these days, there’s just not a lot of music on television. Well, not a lot of music on television played by professional musicians, anyway. Not being content with using the American Idol results show and the occasional So You Think You Can Dance special performance to sell pop hits to American audiences, supermanager Simon Fuller is attempting to bring the Now That’s What I Call Music franchise to television. Is what I’m feeling… excitement?

While still in its early stages — the show doesn’t have an official title yet, although it’s likely to incorporate some variation of the “Now” brand name —details are beginning to emerge.

Fuller, the mastermind behind “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” has the exclusive global rights to negotiate a TV deal based on the property. “This show will be nothing like ‘American Idol’ and definitely won’t be a spinoff,” he says. “It will be a new take on music programming.”

At the center of the show will be the hits themselves, by such acts as Britney Spears, U2 and Jay-Z. “The TV show is designed to take the brand ‘Now’ and bring it to a broader level,” says Bob Mercer, CEO of Now That’s What I Call Music, a partnership involving Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and EMI Music. (Warner Music Group has a competing product called “Only Hits.”)

“A lot of people are buying ‘Now’ as their guide to what is happening in the music world over the last few months,” Mercer says. “The intent is to take that brand and that trust in that brand and establish it as a TV show with the same elements.

While Warner (and any non-major label act) might be shut out of the fun, a show with performances by acts topping the pop charts would be entertaining, at least. I’m not expecting Soul Train levels of greatness, but a sort of Top Of The Pops for US audiences could be fun. (I don’t see enough lipsynching on a regular basis.)

However, there’s a fair amount of bad news to go along with the bits of good. The idea would be that the Now people would come up with their own chart, probably partially to avoid paying Billboard, but also to manipulate bookable acts into its chart, which is dubious. Also somewhat painful: The show’s possible attempt to find the next Now star through user-submitted content. Please no. Please, please no. Put a giant Diet Coke can in the bottom corner of each segment. Have the entire show hosted by the twins from Double Shot Of Love. Just don’t add more user-submitted content to my life.

‘Now That’s What I Call Music!’ Heading To TV? [Billboard]