I think The X Factor was helped by it having mentors, categories (inc. groups), no age limit, and a sing off. All of that was enough to make it more distinctive from Idol in 2004. It was also helped by the fact that Idol was off the air when X Factor debuted over here, and so there wasn't as much of a need for it to be seen as completely revolutionary and distinctive.

The Voice is in a different situation because it's been deliberately launched and marketed in this country as an alternative to The X Factor. It was the show and the hype itself which suggested it was different so it was their job to make sure it remained more distinctive until the end and I think they've failed on that point when it's come to the live shows.

But as I mentioned in my previous post, if the show and the hype surrounding it hadn't made such a big deal about it being completely different to The X Factor then I don't think it would have been such an issue for me. I can't help picking up on it though, and I've seen a lot of people on Twitter echo those sentiments.

Yes I agree, on the face of it it's a concept that's difficult to switch up. But then it's not my job to do that, I'm not the one devising a global television format.

Jamie East ‏ @mrjamieeast
7/5/2012 22:00 #bbuk

peter dyke ‏ @peterdyke
Whether you're "home" or "away" something BBig might be happening #bigbrother

BBXtra ‏ @**************
@key199998293 it's the bb ad...

Jamie East Jamie East ‏ @mrjamieeast
@************** @key199998293 reckon?

Hmm, Big Brother ad at 10pm? I wonder whether they've bought ad space post Britain's Got Talent or whether it's going to be on Channel 5? And a 'Home and Away' reference...don't tell me Dannii Minogue's going to become a Housemate?

You mean like when he said to Paige Richardson, a young black man, that he reminded him of a young Lenny Henry, purely because he couldn't think of another black singer and just said the name of the first black man he could think of.

I do think some people are far too quick to criticise when it comes to The Voice. There has only been two live shows so far, nearly everyone involved in the show has little or no experience when it comes to being live in a talent show watched by millions of people. I doubt when Pop Idol first started, that the judges were that comfortable or that asssured in their performance. The X Factor took several years to become the well oiled and polished show that it is today where everyone knows their role and what to say.

There are obvious problems with The Voice live shows, mainly with the coaches because they dont know where the line is when it comes to praise and criticism as they have to stay positive and not turn into X Factoresque putdowns. But, that will come with time when they find the line and get more confident.

Talent wise the show is very good, the set is great and the production was better tonight despite a few flat parts but some are very quick to criticise for other reasons.

I agree. I watched 45 minutes on iPlayer then gave up. I really miss the X Factor. I miss Louis and his cliches, the bickering between the judges, the joke acts, the whole pantomime atmosphere. I guess The Voice is too much of a serious show for me and I think The Voice will slowly lose viewers over the next couple of live shows, then settle around to the 7-8 million mark which is still excellent.

But there is also a group of people that don't like the pantomime atmosphere and just want to see talent. There will also be new people tuning in to see what the show is about. People that normally don't watch talent shows or saterday night entertainment but heard about the image of true talent the Voice has. The group of people that are fed up with saterday night television is much larger. The demograph in the netherlands for 50+ was also very high for the Voice. These people need to find the show by word of mouth.

I agree. I thought BGT was a lot better - but with TV, there is something fundamentally missing. It just seems like a judges are a bit too agreeable with each other, no real cutting edge. And the acts are mainly forgettable as well.

You should see what was happening in Germany. Schlag den Raab (Beat the Star) had Stefan Raab and the contender throwing horseshoes, playing Pong with Smart cars and flipping pancakes to win €2 million on live TV.

According to John Williams:

But no numbers tweeted yet.

#TheVoiceUK averages 8.2m/35.7% share, peaking at 9.1m.

Source: Sam Hodges

That's down -12% week-on-week. Looks like BGT was top last night but I suspect that was also down week-on-week.

The highest rating show on Saturday night was #BGT - with over 1m more viewers than its nearest rival (9.8m viewers (inc+1) & 9.5m without)

Audience for #BGT peaked at 11.5m (11m excluding +1) at 21.25

Source: Jenny Cummins

Looks like BGT was pretty much flat week-on-week compared to last week's full slot rating (9.9m inc +1).

A bit 'ouch' for The Voice there.

BGT did well to be pretty much flat week-on-week - it was a series low (looking at tapechecked numbers) but in that slot it didn't do badly, and was way ahead of The Voice despite that show getting a plum slot. BGT was also down -0.5m on the same episode last year, but that episode aired on a Sunday from 7:30-9pm so had a much better slot. A half million decline is fine given those circumstances, I think.

The audience peak for the FA Cup final on ITV1 was a massive 11.2m/50% share at 7pm (exc+1)

Source: Jenny Cummins

Great peak for the FA Cup there - imagine how hi it would've been had it gone into extra time (as it should have done)!

BGT's peak was up slightly on last week, suggesting that the later finish dragged the average down a little.

So The Voice peaked lower than Britain's Got Talent's average, which surprises me. I would have understood a lower average, but not a lower peak considering it would have peaked against The Cube. Not great numbers there for BBC, while BGT did fine in a later slot.

Big peak as well for The FA Cup there!

That probably rules out any chance of the FA Cup Final returning to 3pm in future years.

ITV will be delighted with those figures.

Very poor for The Voice. I usually watch this kind of show but the live shows seem to lack any kind of atmosphere. They need a much bigger venue.

The Home / Away clue is doing my head in. What could that mean?

Can't be the ad surely as Marcus isn't recording the voiceover until Tuesday.

I imagine tonight's rating for The Voice UK could be down into the 7's. The last two weeks, the 7.30-8pm portion of the Sunday show has rated -8% lower than the average of the Saturday episode. So factoring in as well that it's got an earlier start than usual (19.15), I'd predict about 7.5m for tonight's results show. Momentum really has swung the last couple of weeks and unfortunately for it, it's only going to get tougher next week with that ridiculously early timeslot. I agree with what sn_22 said last week that when it returns next year, the BBC should make sure it's over before May.


Maybe they're announcing something BB related to do with football? Or maybe they'll announce some kind of BB house swap/contestant swap with the Australian Big Brother (hence the 'Home and Away' clue)?

Have to agree with everyone The Voice is now unwatchable,that 25 million they have paid now looks a bit of a error.

They were saying on ESPN before the match that the new kick-off time was all about maximising TV audience. But the main reason the figures went up is Chelsea/L'pool is a lot more attractive than Man City/Stoke City.


That sounds plausible. I'm rubbish at solving cryptic things like this.

Brilliant peak for the Cup final, dare I say justifying the later kick off. Probably another 500k or so on ESPN.

Agreed, I'm surprised that ESPN didn't offer it as a free event on DTT channel 34 (as they did a couple of years ago).

They would have picked up some of those ITV viewers and it wouldn't have affected their subscription income.