At the launch of Britain's Got Talent yesterday, Cowell said that he was disappointed about the scheduling overlap between the two programmes and accused the BBC of getting "in a mess" with the reality series.
"They need to get their sense of humour back," added the Syco boss. He also claimed that there was no need for another music talent show, which could potentially rival his own format The X Factor.
Simon Cowell talks to Digital Spy at the BGT launch:
Speaking to Broadcast magazine about Cowell's remarks, Cohen said: "I see it a different way. You wouldn't stop doing quizzes and crime drama - it's not about overdoing a genre, it's about how you make them distinctive and fresh.
"I don't think we should be so myopic that when a great format comes along we close the door because we have every single answer here in the UK. That's not in the interest of licence-fee payers."
Cohen said that The Voice was more "warm-hearted" than The X Factor, claiming that only talented singers would appear in the auditions.
However, Cohen played down expectations about bumper Voice launch ratings, commenting: "I'm conscious that Strictly launched with 4.9m viewers, The X Factor 5m and Britain's Got Talent around the same. I'm not going to put a number on what we see as success for The Voice."
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Photo gallery - The Voice first episode:
