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So I hear that NBC’s heavily hyped upcoming warble show The Voice from John de Mol, Mark Burnett, and Warner Horizon Television is costing a whopping $1.4 million per episode. Given that this is a U.S. adaptation of The Voice of Holland, and that the set for the April 26th premiere looks like a cheap Las Vegas lounge with a coupla chairs, a microphone, and hardly any production values, and that judges on these talent shows aren’t paid that extravagantly, then where the hell is the money going? I’m told that, when the show was first pitched, NBCU’s previous boss Jeff Zucker et al was duped into believing that another network was making “a big offer” when in actuality there was no rival bid. Oops. And to think Zucker led us all to believe that scripted programming was too expensive…
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It’s gonna bomb… big time!
I agree. It may have an alright first season, but X FACTOR will totally crush this show. Cee Lo and Adam Levine, while great musicians, are not people that have ever been able to command an audience, really. Cee Lo’s album opened with embarrassingly low numbers, and Maroon 5 isn’t as relevant anymore either. Unfortunately I smell a disaster coming and another bad career choice for Christina Aguilera.
You really have to wonder the sort of numbers NBC expects to get from such a cheap show. The fact that it only took NBC about a week to set it up and put everything together speaks volumes about the quality and entertainment values.
NBC bought the franchise in December of last year. They’ve been working on moving into this caliber of competition. The set and everything took about 3 months to put together and lets remember that there are some very complicated set pieces to put together. The X Factor, The Voice, and American Idol have very different premises and goals. Sure The Voice is a singing competition like American Idol, and The X Factor, but The X Factor is a singing competition like American Idol so criticize it for that as well.
Also, while the Voice and the X Factor may both have 4 Coaches/Mentors/Teachers, WhatevTF you want to call it, that is where the similarities end. The X Factor divvies up 4 categories for the 4 Coaches/Mentors/Teachers, where the Voice allows you them to pick their team of 8, and letting the singers pick their coach as well, so there are clearly no similarities after you move past what the Coaches/Mentors/Teachers are supposed to do.
Lastly, the most unique format out of all of them is the Voice. It starts off with blind auditions (call it corny if you want but me and millions of other people don’t agree), then it moves to the battles where the Coaches/Mentors/Teachers must decide who from their teams they will be letting go based on our votes. Then when it gets to the finale, only 1 singer from each Coaches/Mentors/Teachers will be left to fight for the $100,000 (which I think is more reasonable than giving $5 million, and a recording contract.
So to make this point clear, each show will have its time to shine in the season of the year that it airs. American Idol has the winter to early spring. The Voice has spring to early summer. The X Factor has the entire fall to have its time. They cannot and will not compete. American Idol will continue to be the ratings juggernaut of the winter, The Voice will be the ratings juggernaut of the spring/summer, and The X Factor will murder the Fall.
Can we stop comparing them already??!! I love them all and want them all to do great.
This could’ve been a huge trick pulled by John de Mol, to make NBC suspect there were big rival bids. He admitted he’d sold The Voice Of Holland below the cost price. He also said he expected he would get the money back when The Voice was sold to other countries.
Well, apparently he’s got his money. However, these judges don’t come cheap either, I reckon.
This just proves that Jeff Zucker is a complete fool. Simon Cowell told Tampa Bay.com what he thinks of The Voice.
“Since Cowell also owns and executive produces NBC’s biggest summer hit, America’s Got Talent, guess who got a courtesy call to avoid any toe-stepping problems?
“I said, ‘Do whatever you want, but if you deliberately try to steal (elements) with the intention of ruining my show, then we don’t have a relationship anymore,’ ” Cowell said. “I spoke to Paul (Telegdy, NBC/Universal alternative programming executive) about it. … He’s under massive pressure from his bosses with the success of The X Factor in the U.K. and Idol in America.”
NBC could have asked you to make The Voice.
I wouldn’t have made the show. I only saw the preview, the promo tape, and I burst out laughing. It’s just too gimmicky.”
If the Judges aren’t being paid extravagantly, then why did Christina Aguilera choose The Voice over The X Factor when she would have been paid more money for the X Factor?
X Factor didn’t want her…
why did Christina Aguilera choose The Voice over The X Factor when she would have been paid more money for the X Factor
Why did she choose Burlesque to be her feature film debut?
Why did she schedule a huge tour last year without knowing it would conflict with the filming of Burlesque?
Why did she —
oh, the hell with it; Aguilera’s management SUCKS BALLS. Plain and simple.
The money is going into Mark Burnett’s pockets as usual. Take a look at how much Sarah Palin’s Alaska cost vs license fee. Same thing. What is he, like up to 15 or 20 consecutive flops now? He hasn’t had a success since that Foxworthy game show and not one success in cable.
Sarah Palin’s Alaska was a huge success. Celenrity Apprentice is a success.
The Voice is going to be off the air soon. They cannot compete with the X Factor and American Idol.
On the one hand, you’ve got the highly marketable Simon Cowell et. al. and Steven Tyler, J-Lo, et. al. and on the other hand, you’ve got Xtina, whose career has gone off the rails…..and some other kind of irritating, not particularly interesting personalities.
I give it one season, at best.
The X factor has no marketable people besides Simon. The other two are unknowns and aren’t big in the U.S. Before Idol J-LO was washed up, Xtina was always bigger than her. The Voice has a lot of well knowns and the x factor looks like a crappy idol rip off. The same kinda goes to the voice, but it’s coming first.
Trust me, watch some of the dutch The Voice of Holland, think about it being done 110 times better in the U.S. due to our production standards, and this show will last a while. Oh and another thing, American Idol, The Voice and the X Factor will BE ON AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!
These are fairly big stars I doubt they are being paid a low salary. I guess it seems like a hybrid of x factor and idol. I would have done this over the summer
Every time a promo airs, for this kind of crap, whoever’s in the room says, “Who watches this #@*#??” Kids? Homebound seniors? WHO? NBC, you’re in the gutter, for a reason. Your personal best is LCD???? Really, NBC? You can make an interesting scripted series for that kind of money…and I’m sure that there are a MILLION wanna-be writers out there, who could do better than “The Event.” For @#*#’s sake, grow some. I only watch ONE of your shows, these days – love Netflix!!
Who’s behind the programming wheel at NBC? They’re trying to take a race car out for winning spin in bumper bumper traffic?
Why would you take a singing competion with a celebrity judging panel that is NOT American Idol and it air when American Idol is still current? Idol proved a lot of nay sayers (myself included) wrong with this season and new judges proving it’s still got life in it for big ratings. The Voice will UNDOUBTEDLY be compared but it will not equal and thus be defined as less than.
NBC should’ve saved this for Summer. The would’ve gotten boffo summer ratings, when the expectations are lower, and could’ve publicly boasted about seeing 75% viewers increases compared to last summer or something like that.
NBC does well with America’s Got Talent so build off of that success rather than put your sailboat up against the Titantic.
Yes I know they’re on different nights but people are INVESTED in the Idol and the singers. It’s quite personal for some fans so it’s not realistic to ask them to do so again/at the same time on another network under a different format at the same time.
Christina…get new management ASAP. (ps, she was NOT offered a spot on The X-Factor).
The entire Dutch season cost 6.2 million euros (8.17 million dollar) to make.
The set may look cheap in pictures, but the entire floor actually consist of a pressure sensitive led-tv(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYEMm8GXSgg), which was pretty spectaculair during live shows.
Then you have the different phases of the shows, so there are problably three sets.
Thank you!!!!! Someone with commonsense for a change. At least you don’t say things you don’t know anything about, because most of these people on here don’t!
…said the PR intern
Dear Hollywood:
It stinks.
Joe and Jane Public smell it coming a mile away.
When WAS the last time Burnett had a hit broadcast TV show? Oh yeah, ten years ago. But not the last time, the time before that, and the time before that.
Shark Tank has so much potential but even that show puts me asleep.
All these unscripted duds, even if they save money, which this latest NBC project DOESN’T, just might push for a call for more scripted fare.
Reality is cool for two seconds but seems to have a shelf-life we are fast approaching.
CHEESE-O-RAMA!
Has anyone ever thought that the answer to the huge price tag is — kickbacks??
Burnett would have known that the show would not be that good, Jeff had to have known that he would be on the way out by the time he OK’d this thing.
Perhaps Jeff said, ‘I’ll get NBC to overpay, but ONLY if send some of the $$$ back to me’?
It’s a theory. Just a theory.
The networks and studios are bereft of new ideas. How many more detective and medical dramas can their audiences stomach? They simply want to regurgitate successful formulas rather than creating something altogether new.
I suspect that the reason people returned to American Idol this season is because there is renewed focus on the talent rather than the antics of the judges. I’ve noticed that the self promotion has eased and the focus is on entertainment and talent. NBC’s “The Voice” looks more like a game show and it will be taken far less seriously than American Idol or X Factor for that alone.
It has a different feel so it looks different. Its about feeling like you’re there being moved by the voice of that singer as if you were listening to the radio and a new song came on from someone you’ve never heard before.
I have a feeling it will do at least as well as Abdul’s show. A big opening and then downward spiral….
the MEGA hosts are probably being scripted as we speak for extra drama…..
The downward spiral will begins five minutes into the debut episode.
Somebody duped Zucker? What a surprise!
If there is a Hell, I imagine it looks a lot like that picture.
Carson Daly needs to stick to what works for him, being on TV in the middle of the night. Oh yeah…he’s a DJ, too. This primetime train wreck won’t be good for his resume.
I am dumbstruck that this show costs that much per ep. Isnt the whole proliferation of reality tv due to the fact that it is cheap to produce?
Another epic fail for NBC. At this point, they should just put on as many versions of The Biggest Loser it can come up with and be done with it.
Just turned off the preview. I’m predicting epic failure for this
piece of trash. Totally unwatchable.
lol… and 2012 is the end of the world. You better keep you predictions to yourself.
I am watching the premiere episode and actually I am enjoying it. The chemistry between the four coaches is real and can’t be manufactured. Christina is coming off very yummy Mummy and the guys are very funny and fast- I like they are competing as it’s obvious each of the four wants to be the best and get the best artists- I also like they chose the four from such different parts of the industry in terms of style and sound. Lastly I like the fact you are hearing insiders who are responding initially to just what they hear.
Gotta say I have so tuned out of American Idol but completely enjoying The Voice so far.
I completely agree. American Idol was getting annoying and reminded me of a cheap Glee episode. The Voice has professional and amazing performances from top stars and sure to be new stars.