MUMBAI: It is a three year deal thought to be worth about £50m between ITV and ‘The Voice UK’, which was previously aired by BBC. As part of the deal, ‘The Voice UK’ will premier another contest- ‘The Voice Kids’ which will begin in January 2017, and will run for two seasons.
ITV director of communications, Mike Large, broke the news on Twitter saying:
The Voice and The Voice Kids are coming to ITV in 2017.
— Mike Large (@Mike_Large) November 23, 2015
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The fifth season of the reality singing completion will be the last one to air on BBC before it moves to ITV.
BBC reportedly revealed that it had lost out to a rival broadcaster before the announcement was made. In a statement, the channel said, “The BBC is incredibly proud of The Voice, but the fifth series which starts in January will be our last. We always said we wouldn’t get into a bidding war or pay inflated prices to keep the show, and it’s testament to how the BBC has built the programme up – and established it into a mainstay of the Saturday night schedule – that another broadcaster has poached it.”
In terms of production, it is likely that the series will be made by ITV Studios. It acquired Talpa for an initial consideration of £355m in March this year. ‘The Voice’ has been made into 65 local versions airing in 180 territories while ‘The Voice Kids’ has been adapted for 30 countries including Australia. ‘The Voice’ originally started as a Dutch talent show in 2010, which ironically, BBC won from ITV in a bidding war four years ago.
The launch of ‘The Voice Kids’ is especially meant for kids aged eight to 14. Depending on the success of the first two seasons, the show could have a third season. ‘The Voice Kids’ has done extremely well in Australia, France, the Netherland and Brazil.
ITV managed a deal with the format’s owner- Jon De Mol’s Talpa Global, which also created ‘Big Brother’, to air the singing competition for three seasons from January 2017.
Talpa founder and creator, John de Mol said, “We are delighted that The Voice has found a new home at ITV. 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 U.K. audience after completing what we think will be a fantastic upcoming season on the BBC,” which he called “a great partner.”
Speaking on the new development ITV director of television Peter Fincham said, “ITV is the natural home of big entertainment, so we are thrilled that The Voice and The Voice Kids are both joining our family alongside brilliant shows like The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Saturday Night Takeaway and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.”
The one thing that is not yet clear is whether the show’s current judges- Will.i.am, Paloma Faith, Boy George and Ricky Wilson will follow the show to ITV.
