ITV has backed down in a scheduling battle that proves rival show 'The Voice' is very serious about taking on some of Britain's biggest reality programmes. The show has already caused ripples through America where it is competing well against the US version of 'American Idol,' and now in the UK it's forced 'Britain's Got Talent' to move it's allotted timeslot on ITV to avoid a clash with its first series on the BBC.
The unique selling point of 'The Voice' is that its judges - known as "coaches" - turn their backs to the participants during the performance, judging them purely on their singing abilities. It's proved hugely popular since debuting in Australia and looks set to sweep the Northern Hemisphere as well.
It looked for a period as though 'The Voice' and 'Britain's Got Talent' might clash on a Saturday evening, reported the UK's Guardian newspaper, with the former set to begin at 7.15pm in the evening and 'BGT' set to start half an hour later. Moving their show forward 15 minutes, the BBC thought they'd managed to limit the overlap, only to find that ITV then moved theirs to 7.30pm. However good sense has now prevailed, with ITV realising that an overlap is as bad for them as it is for 'The Voice' and they've since backed down and taken an 8pm slot. This means that the shows will only overlap for 20 minutes, a far more agreeable outcome for both parties