‘Britain’s Got Talent’ defeats ‘The Voice’ UK again, but Jessie J series sets high

In the ongoing ratings battle between “Britain’s Got Talent” and “The Voice” UK, what we are really learning at this point is that later really is better, at least when it comes to when the shows air on the schedule. It’s almost ironic in a way that the BBC One singing competition drew its lowest ratings before Simon Cowell and company arrived as competition, and now that they are present, the series is starting to pick up a little bit of steam.

For Saturday night’s airing, Jessie J and company ended up drawing a season-high in viewers with 7.97 million, including a peak audience of 8.9 million. This peak is only 400,000 viewers behind where “Britain’s Got Talent” averaged for the night (a decrease versus last week), but it also peaked with around 9.7 million.

So should Cowell and company really be worried about getting some substantial competition? Not really. After all, “The Voice” UK floundered and completely fell apart last year without the blind auditions, which is clearly the most appealing part of the show no matter what version you are looking at. Meanwhile, “Britain’s Got Talent” holds over better in its later rounds, as there is still a presence of variety, and there is also a little bit of credibility that the winner of the show can go on to make an imprint in British culture. (Even Ashleigh & Pudsey found a good deal of success for themselves last year, at least compared to what some of the dog-act cynics thought would happen.)

Thus far, we do believe that “Britain’s Got Talent” is the better show for the sake of entertainment, mostly because they give you a little bit of a broader range. Meanwhile, “The Voice” is a little more reliant on its coaches, who are typically not as strong in a live environment.

If you want to read our full review for Saturday’s “Britain’s Got Talent” episode, be sure to head on over to the link here.

Photo: ITV