The phony war is over (at last). And now we can start to see how ITV”s returning franchise Britain”s Got Talent fares up against BBC1”s new rival The Voice.

Episode one of the two shows aired on Saturday and gave both sides reason for optimism. The Voice, a John de Mol format, started at 1900 and ran until 2020, picking up 8.4 million viewers. Britain”s Got Talent started at 2000 and ran until 2120, attracting 9.3m. This is down on 2011 – though that”s no surprise with the BBC spending a small fortune on the launch of its rival.

So first blood to ITV and Simon Cowell? Well yes and no. For the BBC, there are two reasons to be positive. Firstly, it”s a new show, so it may take time to win its audience. Secondly, it won the 20-minute section when the two overlapped (8.9m vs 6.6m). True, this was the climax of the show – but if it manages to find the right talent then it”s a good platform from which to build.

Of course, there are those (like Cowell) who wonder why the BBC is using taxpayer money to fund a formula that is adequately provided for by the commercial sector.