The Voice UK low ratings expose series’ flaws

Are viewers turning on The Voice UK? We’d argue so, and in many ways, we’d argue that such a turn was inevitable thanks to the trajectory of the series on ITV and even BBC One to date.

Last night’s performance show drew (per Telly Mix) a total of 3.8 million viewers, which is the lowest figure ever for a live-round performance show. There’s only one broadcast ever, a knockout round episode from last year, with lower overall ratings.

The biggest issue with The Voice UK — and the majority of the different versions that exist out there for the franchise — is that there is basically no credibility with any of them. The acts on the show may be talented, but there’s yet to be a serious effort with any production company or record label to correct the fact that none of these people become stars after the fact. There’s no investment, and if the purpose of the show is to deliver the next great voice for the country, shouldn’t that matter more than it does? What are you competing for if there is no real way to quantify the victory other than money? If you want to watch someone win money, you may as well win a game show.

We’re all probably in agreement that the Blind Auditions with The Voice no matter where you are tend to be a lot of fun to watch. After that, things start to fall apart. There aren’t enough live shows in order to get to know the contestants, and the show doesn’t allow for enough artistry and flexibility. While The X Factor is far from the perfect show, given that it does at times feed into the British tabloid culture, it does make that effort to produce stars. That’s why it’s been on the air longer, and why its recent ratings are better than what the British version of The Voice is getting now. The singing-show genre in general is dying, and one of the only ways you can keep people invested at this point is if they think that something matters.

Without legitimate winners, we regret to say that The Voice UK just doesn’t matter all that much.

What do you think about The Voice UK low ratings? Do you think a good winner to this season could start to turn things around? Sound off with some of your thoughts in the comments! (Photo: ITV.)