RTE has commissioned series five of The Voice of Ireland, despite considering alternative formats from three separate franchises. The talent show, which brought in an average of 500,000 per episode this season, beat off still competition from an Irish version of Strictly Come Dancing and Ireland’s Got Talent. Una Foden, Rachel Stevens, Kian Egan and Bressie will return as coaches on the hit show.

There was also a third option, which saw contestants sing their favourite tracks from the great Irish Song Book. A well placed RTE source told EVOKE.ie that while they had considered other alternative formats for that coveted Sunday night slot, The Voice was the right choice for this year. ‘The fact of the matter is that The Voice is an established show and it gives us over 40 hours of television. That is big bang for our buck,’ the source said. ‘That is why we have gone with it over some maybe, other formats. It did great numbers for us so we stuck with it. That does not mean that the other shows will not be considered in the future.’ The decision was made by RTÉ television following a tender process for programme ideas for the Sunday evening slot which was open to independent production companies. Commenting on the announcement, Adrian Lynch, Channel Controller for RTÉ One, said, ‘The Voice of Ireland has been a hugely popular show for RTE One and the fourth series continued to attract really strong audiences. ‘While we considered some very strong proposals as part of the tender process, we believe The Voice of Ireland represents the best option for Sunday nights on RTÉ One in the New Year. ‘We’re confident that it will continue to be appointment to view family entertainment. We look forward to working with Screentime ShinAwil on what we are sure will be another great series.’ The fourth series of The Voice of Ireland on RTÉ One regularly attracted over 500,000 viewers every Sunday evening.
– evoke.ie