ITV to launch Voice spin-off for children

A children’s version of hit singing competition The Voice will be coming to ITV.

Stevie McCrorie won The Voice earlier this year. Picture: BBC

The network confirmed that it has struck a three-year deal to air The Voice and its new offspring, The Voice Kids, after four years on the BBC.

After refusing to enter into a “bidding war”, the BBC announced in early November that the fifth series, airing in January 2016, would be its last.

ITV struck the deal with Talpa Media, the Dutch-based production company behind the format, which it acquired in March this year for approximately £355 million.

The deal will see The Voice air for three seasons on the broadcaster’s main channel from 2017, with a spin-off running alongside it on ITV2.

ITV has also signed up for two series of the children’s adaptation of the show.

There are already 30 versions of The Voice Kids globally, including in Australia and France, but this is the first time it has been commissioned for the UK market.

Peter Fincham, director of television at ITV, hinted that the commissioning of The Voice might not mean the end for the network’s current singing competition The X Factor.