The Voice of doom
Saturday night talent contest poached from BBC for £300m has already lost HALF its six million viewers
IT WAS billed as the saviour of ITV’s struggling Saturday night schedules. But The Voice is increasingly looking like a multi-million-pound gamble gone wrong after a spectacular collapse in its audience figures.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that ratings for the show have fallen by half since the current series began, meaning three million viewers have switched off – even though there are still two weeks to go before the final.
It is disastrous news for ITV, which managed to poach the programme from the BBC after buying production company Talpa for £335million.
Anxious producers are now left wondering what they can do to win back the audience, which peaked at 6.4million for its launch in January.
ITV sources suggest new director of television, Kevin Lygo, is also feeling the pressure. Although it was his predecessor Peter Fincham who signed the deal to bring The Voice over from the BBC, Lygo now has the responsibility of revamping it.
Last Sunday, just 3.4million people tuned in – down three million from January 15. By comparison, audiences regularly topped seven million when The Voice was screened on BBC1. One industry source said: ‘To think that ITV spent all of that money getting The Voice from the BBC, only to see such a huge decline in viewing figures, is not good news for them.
‘There are people at the top of the show, and indeed ITV, who are worried. This was supposed to be the saviour for them – they were going to make it their big Saturday night draw. It has, sadly, been anything but. It’s in need of change.’
At present, however, there is little agreement on how this should happen. One element being looked at is the show’s red swivel chairs, which play a large part in the six weeks of auditions and are a huge hit among viewers. Judges Tom Jones, Jennifer Hudson, Gavin Rossdale and Will.i.am cannot see the contestants during their performance, but if they are impressed by the singers they turn around dramatically and take them through to the next round.
However, once the audition stage is over there is no need for the chairs and ratings slump.
ITV insiders say the judges are an even bigger problem. US singer Hudson and Bush frontman Rossdale are little known to the British public, and even Tom Jones – who has returned after being sacked by the BBC in 2015 – has failed to make an impact.
‘Nobody knows what to do,’ the source added. ‘Say what you like about Simon Cowell and The X Factor, but he is a household name. Nobody knows who Gavin is and, as for Jennifer, she may have won an Oscar, but she’s barely recognisable in the UK.
‘The talent, while impressive, has not resonated with the audience. You’d be hard pushed to find someone who knows the names of the live finalists.’