Austria: ORF likely to broadcast Eurovision Song Contest 2008

by Marcus Klier 3,165 views

As reported earlier, Austria will not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, nevertheless it is likely that ORF will broadcast the final of the contest on 24th May according to head of program Wolfgang Lorenz.

Wolfgang Lorenz stated that broadcasting the final is an option and that at the moment, he assumes that the show will be aired on ORF. If ORF opts against screening the show after all, Puls4 might take over the contest. Puls4 is a new private channel which will go on air in February, nevertheless executive director Martin Blank did not want to comment on the rumours yet. The other Austrian private channel ATV will definitely not take over the contest.

After disappointing results in 2004 and 2005, Austria withdrew from the competition in 2006but returned in 2007 when Eric Papilaya finished 27th (second last) with only four points in the semi final which led to another withdrawal. Overall, despite a victory in 1966, Austria is one of the less succesful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest: only 17 of the 43 Austrian entries finished in the first half of the scoreboard.