BBC joins with Rai in battle over Mediaset format


The BBC has weighed into an ongoing legal case between Italian broadcasters Mediaset and Rai.

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the UK public broadcaster, are joining Rai in claiming that Mediaset’s Baila! format is a copy of its own Dancing with the Stars.

For its part, Mediaset says the formats are distinct and that its show, while a dancing talent show, is an adaptation of a Latin format and not a copy of the BBC’s series. Baila! is slated to air on its Canale 5, at end-September. One distinction is that Dancing with the Stars teams professional dancers with celebrities and Baila! celebrities that love dancing with members of the public.