BGT triumphs in ratings war once again

By Mark Fordham

Britain's Got Talent (BGT) managed to beat The Voice in the latest round of the ratings war between the two talent shows for the second week in a row.

The ITV1 programme attracted an average audience of 9.8 million on Saturday (May 5th), while the BBC's flagship rival drew just 8.2 million.

On Sunday, BGT triumphed once again with its first live semi final, reaching 9.5 million viewers, while The Voice's results show only attracted an audience of 6.6 million.

The recent success of BGT comes after it moved to a later time slot on Saturday evenings so as not to clash with the BBC talent contest.

Controller of BBC One Danny Cohen moved to quell reports of a rivalry between the two programmes.

"Simon Cowell and others have said very nice things about The Voice. We want viewers to enjoy both shows. I'm a fan of ITV's entertainment shows," he said.