Posted: Wed., Jan. 8, 2003, 7:31am PT

'Top Of The Pops' gets French makeover

BBC chart show localized in five Euro markets

By Debra Johnson

LONDON -- French pubcaster France 2 launched a local version of long-running BBC music chart show "Top of the Pops" on Wednesday.

RTL in Germany, BNN in Holland, Jim TV in Belgium and Rai 2 in Italy all broadcast local versions of the show, in addition to the 112 countries that air the U.K. version.

Local producers R&G and ACT 4, together with BBC's production team, will create the French version. The show will reflect France's local chart, SNEP (Syndicat National des Editeurs Phonographiques) with performances from national and international artists.

Robbie Williams, Indochine and Carla Bruni will kick off the first show.