The Voice has the X-factor

The X Factor repeatedly lost out to Strictly Come Dancing in last year's bitter ratings war. And Simon Cowell's reign as the king of Saturday night television appeared even more vulnerable after the BBC's new show, The Voice, beat Britain's Got Talent for the 20 minutes that they clashed this weekend. Cowell's ITV show topped the ratings overall with an average of 9.4 million viewers — down 500,000 on a year ago — compared to The Voice's 8.4 million, according to overnight figures. But during the all-important 20-minute period when both shows were in direct competition, The Voice managed to secure 2.4 million more viewers than its rival. Insiders at the BBC were keen to point out that The Voice had the most successful debut for a Saturday night show in many years. Meanwhile, ITV insiders were keen to stress that Britain's Got Talent's peak rating was higher than last year.