In March 2016, it was announced that a deal had been signed between the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), which gave the channel the rights to create a version of the Eurovision Song Contest for countries in Asia to be able to compete in a contest similar to the European version.[1] The rules and format for the new contest are in the development stages between SBS and their production partner Blink TV. The inaugural contest, which had yet to be given a name, was be held in Australia in 2017.[2]