ITV have officially confirmed that they have picked up The Voice United Kingdom and The Voice Kids in a huge deal.
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BBC execs had been bullish on retaining rights to The Voice, but ITV, intent on poaching the show, increased their cash offer and agreed to commission a pair of spin-offs.
The deal throws the future of singing competition format The X Factor on ITV into question, with a few observers suggesting it could land with Sky if ITV is unwilling to have two shows in the same genre on its air.
The announcement ends speculation that ITV had bought The Voice from BBC, after BBC Acting Director Mark Linsey said another broadcaster had “poached” the series.
The channel is also launching The Voice Kids for pint-sized popstars in the making, as well as an ITV2 spin-off show.
The British version of the show is made by production firm Wall to Wall based on the Talpa format.
Simon Cowell’s singing show has suffered falling ratings this year, as well as criticism of its new look and presenting duo Olly Murs and Caroline Flack.
It is unknown whether current judges will.i.am, Paloma Faith, Boy George and Ricky Wilson will follow the show to ITV, or whether former mentor and X Factor judge Rita Ora will return. “This is in contrast to Strictly Come Dancing, which was developed by the BBC in-house and then sold overseas”.
Meanwhile, John de Mol – who created “The Voice” and is founder of Talpa Global – has expressed his excitement at the news. It attracts more than 300 million viewers worldwide.
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The BBC said earlier this month that it had been outbid by a rival broadcaster for the rights to The Voice, but ITV had not confirmed it would be airing the show until today. “With the addition of The Voice Kids we are excited about working with ITV in 2017 to develop and expand The Voice experience for the United Kingdom audience after completing what we think will be a fantastic upcoming season on the BBC”, which he called “a great partner”.
